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BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF
McLean county.
ILLINOIS.
I I^I^TLJSTTI^ J^^TTKED
"■'A people that take tm pride in the noble aehievements of remote ancestors zvill never achieve
anything worthy to be remembered ivith pride by remote generations.'' — Macaulay.
CHICAGO:
The s. J. CLARKE Publishing Company.
1899.
'Biography is the only frue Iiistory."-I:mer5on.
rmoM tus pkbm or wilsom, bduphrktb a co.,
rOUBTH ST., LOOAMBPORT, IKS.
PRKFACK.
HE greatest of English historians, Macaulay, and one of the most
brilliant writers of the present century, has said : "The history of a
country is best told in a record of the lives of its people." In con-
formity with this idea, the Biographical Record has been prepared.
Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical
matter that can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have
gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise
and industry, brought this county to a rank second to none among
those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have tiie story of their life
struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent
public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation
of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and
economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, witii limited advantages for securing
an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence extending throughout
the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of
life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in
every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usuallv
crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the
world, have pursued the " even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as Christ
said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "They have done what they could." It
tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the
lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's
call went forth valiantly " to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was
restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every
woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after.
Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from
the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which
would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work,
and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has
been \vritten ; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a \vork with
few errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of
representative citizens are given.
The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume.
For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the \vork, some
refused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent.
Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such
opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men
never could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business.
August, 1899.
The S. T- Clarke Publishing Co.
index:
Adams, James \V ^^■)\
Alexander, George J 318
Allen, Charles 342
Anderson, John 5'21
Anderson, William G 626
Abrogast, Enos 740
Armbruster, George 510
Arnold, George W 582
Arnold, John W 564
Ashton, h rederick T 28'J
Augustine, Captain Henry.... 107
Bach, William R 181
Baker, Hiram 74
Baker. Luman E 199
Baker, R. H 723
Baker, Samuel W 534
ISaldridge, H.Clarence 531
Ballard, Dr. James L 644
Banks, Marks 210
Barclay, Jesse E 155
Baremore, John 324
Barger, Joseph B 156
Barker, Addison L 109
Barnes, Joshua 667
Barnum, Samuel F 248
Beaver, William H 240
Bechtel, James W 616
Beck, John A 128
Beck, Levi 632
Beich, Paul 130
Bell, Henry L 380
Bender, George 365
Benjamin, Reuben M 24
Bishop, Charles E 197
Bishop, George 405
Bishop, Frank 793
Bishop, James 682
Bliss, Leonard H 715
Blough, John M 476
Blum, Frederick 383
Bossinghani, John H 312
Bowman, George W 234
Bradner, Mrs. George 472
Bradbury, William T 794
Bright, lohn H 521
Brock, Elias 367
Brokaw, Abraham 619
Brown, George W 71
Buck, John T 666
Buck, Oliver H 706
Buffham, George 512
Burgess, Rev. Geogre H 126
Burke, Byron R 108
Bush, Samuel 213
Butler, Henry 776
Butler, James P 139
Buttolph, William W 157
Byers, Edward 747
Capen, Charles 1 483
Capen, Henry 150
Capen, Luman W 477
Capp,Theophilus F 431
Carlisle, Thomas C 171
Carlock, Winton 542
Cartmell, Zachariah L 393
Casey, G. Lewis 607
Champion, George 160
Chism, Merritt 557
Claggott, Bernard J 346
Clark, Elijah W 798
Clark, Harrison H 345
Cline, William H 827
Conger, Aaron H 649
Conklin, Isaac 661
Connery, Morris 302
Cook, John W 538
Cooper, H.F 791
Corpe, Edgar S 601
Covey, Dr. J. E 275
Cox, James H 455
Creber, John 727
Creel, John H 829
Crosby, Russell W 739
Crothers, Dr. Eli K 470
Crumbaugh, Daniel T 366
Crumbaugh, James H. L 336
Crumbaugh, James T 395
Crumbaugh, Leonard A 348
Cunningham, William E 758
Daniel, Joshua C 416
Darnall, John M 584
Darrah, Delmar D 114
Darst, Isaac 258
Davis, Judge David 9
Decker, Philip J 622
Denman, Mathias E 442
Depew, Loren H 251
Deutsch. John 377
Dillon, Ellis 231
Dimmett, Samuel H 539
Dooley, Charles W 824
Duff, Andrew M - 254
Dunlap, George N 548
Dunlap, John 294
Dunlap, Oliver W 71
Dunmire, Daniel 170
Dunn, William A 774
Dye, Ross P 709
Easterbrook, Joseph M 781
Eckhardt, Frederick 247
F^dwards, Frank 344
Edwards, Richard 34
Ehresman, Joseph 634
Ela, George P 486
Elder, Dr. Horace W 49
Erickson. Alexander G 545
Ewing, Elmer E 347
Ewins, Chester R 509
Ewins, John A 434
Farnsworth, Enos Hale 576
Ferre, Lyman 172
Fifer, Joseph W 22
Fisher, Dr. Thompson D 330
Flegel, Robert 311
Foster. George J 457
Foster, John M 45
Fowler, William M 381
F>ank, Cyrus 636
Frankeberger, Francis M.... 289
Freeman, George W 527
Fry, Simon 552
Fulton, Albert 357
Gaffren, Otto W 607
Gantz, William S 620
Garee, John 828
Gastman, George W 440
Geiger, John G 202
Gerbrick, Mark 331
Giese, Henry F 604
Goodheart, James 320
Graham, Robert O 755
Gratz, Peter 286
Gray, John R 191
Greene, Lauton 752
Green, Milton A 599
Gregory, Byron 253
Gregory, John 287
Griffith, Perry R 532
Grove, Augustus 777
Hagar, Marshal J 635
Hall, Rinaldo M 73
Hallam, Dr. William L 550
INDEX.
I lallowell, Robert C 394
HalsL-y, AlexandiT 480
Hamilton, Arthur C 778
Hamilton, C. A 780
Hanson, Dr. Owen T 236
Hanson. Pleasant M 838
Haney, Rev. Milton L 124
Harber, Benjamin F 201
Harber, Edgar I) 328
Hardmg, Oliver S . 418
Harms, Hilvvert W (iG2
Harness, Milton 189
Harris, Ur. H. L 797
Hartley, Fred 524
Harwood, James \V 447
Harwood, Thomas F 200
Hasenwmkle, William 730
Hawthorn, John (i.Dii
Hayden, John R 479
Hayes, John W 87
Haynes, John 90
Hedge, Horace 0 059
Henclerson, John T 146
Hendryx, Lewis C 362
Henline, .Milton 263
Hersey, Lynn E 127
Hester, John 569
Hewett, Edwin C 64
Hickey, Capt. John 384
Hilts, Samuel R 214
Hufmann, Albert A 299
Hollis, Allen R 387
Horn, Dr. \V. L 808
Horr, Elijah 222
Hougham, J. A 829
Houser, liarrison 561
Howard, Ansel I) 698
■ Howard, William H 401
Howe, Dr. Bliss S 424
Hubbard. Dr. -Silas 8U9
Hunter, William D 339
Hurley, David 745
Ingram, Joseph 670
Irish, Thomas U.- 801
Jackson, Henry L 763
Jacobs, Christian 775
Jeffries, John 571
Johnson, Francis A 631
John,son, Henry 15 820
Johnson, Robert R 303
Johnston, James 786
Jones, Francis M 218
iones, Lattie G 307
ones, William N 615
Karr, Henry A 488
Karr, I'hilip A 62
Kaufman, Joseph D 207
Kelley, Abram .'J46
Kelso, Dr. George B 47
Kepner, Jerome T 560
Kerbaugh, ."Andrew J 266
Kerrick, Nimrod 41
Kilgore, Thomas B 229
Kinsella, Edward 358
Kinsey, Samuel B 704
Kirkpatrick, Jonathan H 641
Kirkpatrick, .Samuel C 147
Koch, Christian F 43
Kraft, Daniel W 815
Kreiger, Henry 559
Kuhn, Bert M 267
Kuhn, Jacob A 271
Lackland, Melvin P 492
Lain, William S 640
Lake, Charles H 233
Landis, Elias 392
Langstaff, Dr. H. W 613
Lawrence, Alexander D 699
Lawrence, Capt. Harrison... 419
Leaf, William 145
Leech, Robert K 216
Lenney, John B 252
Lennon, John B 104
Lewis, George H 167
Ling, Louis E 69
Little, Dr. Jehu 120
Loar, Dr. James J 711
Loar, James L 115
Loehr, Miss Susan 208
Longworth, David N 679
Loudon, Robert 192
Lucas, Benjamin L 684
McComb, George H 467
McConnell, John 325
McCormick, Marion 688
McElwain. Charles J 515
McFarland, Daniel 505
McFarland, Dr. David H . . . . 438
McKay, Rev. Stanley A 98
McRevnolds, Edward 361
Macy,'VVilliam H 414
Maddux, William 255
Marker, George E 495
Marsh, John 765
Martens, Charles 690
Martin, James T 422
Martin, Willet L 340
Matern, Louis 4.54
Matheny, Charles W 744
Matthews, David M 761
Mceth, lacob 462
Mek-her, .•\sa 137
Merchant, Ira 590
Merritt, E. M 796
Merwin, Washington I 436
Messer, Isaac 484
Minler, Williamson P 668
Mitchell, Isaac J 149
Mittan, Dr. Frank J 588
Moats, Francis M 296
Model, Alexander 293
Montgomery, Rev. Joseph. . . . 169
Mooney, John 245
Moore, Asa H 100
Morris, Charles H 672
Morrison, Frank 209
Moots, Charles E 215
Muhl, Frederick C '6.55
Myers, Colostin D '724
Myers, Henry C 410
Myers, Jacob W 621
Nafziger, Albert N 398
Nafziger, Christian F 412
Nafziger, Fred A 404
Nagel, John 343
Neill, Capt. Hugh 653
Neville, James S 587
Nickerson, William D 572
Noble, Seth S 133
Norris, John H 86
O'Kane, Daniel G 751
Ogden, Albert 397
Ogg, Howard . . 811
Olsen, Peter E 547
Ongley, Fred W 469
Otto, Daniel J 51
Otto, Daniel S 159
Otto, IE 807
Otto, John 671
Parke, Dr. Charles R . . . 54
Parkhurst, Dr. Harvey...' 449
Parr, Marion 568
Patterson, William H 68
Patton, Edward 802
Paul, William ^..,:,.... ,707
PauUin, Thomas it -.,..•.• 799
Peaslev, Rev. Sylvester 182
Peirce Charles M....> 4.58
Pendergast, fohn 651
Peterson, William A 273
Phoenix, Fred S 784
Pickering, John L 602
Pierson, Arthur V 385
Pierson, James S.. ,. . . 428
Pitts, John Joseph 563
Pitts, Joseph A 624
Place, Jason T 606
Platt, Jesse 496
Plumley, David K 301
Popple, John S 475
Potts, Herbert A 460
Pray, Mrs. Emily 309
Price, Charles A 718
Priest, George W 514
Pumpelly, Thomas B 683
Read, Gordon H 498
Rees, Samuel 295
Reeves, Henry G 212
Reeves, William 710
Rhodecap, Philip W 522
Rhodes, Aaron P 97
Rhodes, John H. S 363
Rhodes, William J 359
Richardson, Matthew 423
Rigby, Mrs. Delia H 804
Riggs, William H 728
Rinehart, Isaac N 792
Risser, John P 520
Robb, Hugh 541
Robb, Matthew 694
Rockhold, John 335
Rodman, Arthur 20
Rose, J. Nelson 669
Ross, George A 461
Ross, William H. H 717
Roth, Christian 720
INDEX.
Rowley, Edmund J 313
Russell, Cyrenus 825
Russell, Rolland A 577
Rust, Lee 388
Rutledge, Leander 427
Rutledge, Owen C 461
Ryburn, Edward 406
Sample, Alfred 567
Sanders, James T 178
Schneider, Mrs. Catherine.... 400
Schneider, John A 50
Schroeder, Dr. Herman 596
Scogin, lohn N 308
Scott, John L 510
Scott, John W 702
Scott, William 734
Scrimger, Rev. GeorE;e E 110
Sellers, George M . . ." 332
Shaver, Morton V 220
Sholtey, Levi W 585
Sholty, Jacob 85
Skaggs, Louis E 525
Skinner, Asa \V 748
Skinner, Oliver R 117
Smith, Charles E 642
Smith, James 374
Smith, John A 681
Smith, Stephen M , 821
Smith, Theodore S 570
Snell, James T 735
Spence, John H 19
Spencer, Jonathan 2.50
Spreen, William F 88
Stanger, David W 89
Stansbury, Mrs. Eliza 712
Stapleton, John 452
Stauffer, Tobias S 674
Stephens, Abraham 579
Stephens, James A 637
Stiles, John 812
Stine, Hugh D 18
Stine, James M 17
Stipp, John M 813
Stringfield, George A 95
Stubbleheld, C. Wesley 566
Stubblefield, David R 1.35
Stubblefield, Edward 719
Stubblefield, George W 187
Stubblefield, Lafayette 292
Stuckey, Joseph 226
Stump, AlexanderE 665
Swayne, Henry S 140
Swinehart, George 686
Tavenner, James W 168
Thomson, Charles E 664
Thompson, Joseph J 154
Thompson, William .581
Tipton, Thomas F 816
Townsend, Joseph 754
Trimmer, Scott 523
Tuthill, Dr. John A 327
Vance, James 379
Vance, John W 489
Vance, Peter H 465
Vasey, Lucius A 421
Vaughan, Hugh 4.30
Vincent, James M 691
Vreeland, John H 737
Wahl, Jacob 491
Wakefield, John F 516
Wallberg, Lewis P .533
Warlow, Jonathan B 269
Waters, Charlton D 411
Waybright, Adam 276
Weakley, Joseph M 318
Weeks, Thomas 625
Welch, Alfred J 238
Welch, James A 618
Welch, William .595
West, Simeon H 766
Wheatley, George W 448
White, Albert K 246
White, George W 742
White, HarleyJ 652
White, Ora E 85
White, Samuel R 58
White, William R 278
Whitmer, Peter 608
Wiles, William 18
Wiley, William 819
Wiley, Rev. William R 129
Willerton, Samuel B 3.56
Willhite, Theodore S 826
Williams, Martin 639
Wilson Edward 176
Wilson, Isaac 701
Wilson, Thomas 783
Wmn, Henry 803
Wintz, Peter 368
Wolfe, Augustus G 265
Wright, Dr. Samuel 225
Wright, William H 603
Wyckoff, Jacob 760
Young, J. William 722
Young William 402
Zeiters, Elmer J 119
Zook, Adam .314
,^
THE NL.7 \u;.K
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOB. LENOJL
DAVID DAVIS.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
JUDGE DAVID DAVIS was born on
the 9th day of March, 1815, in Cecil
county, Maryland. His family was of
Welsh origin, but had been settled in that
county more than a century, and had ac-
quired in every particular the distinctive
features of American nationality. He was
unfortunate in the loss of his father at an
early age; but the kindness of an uncle in
many ways atoned in some measure for his
early privation. His father left sufficient
estate, not only to educate him in classical
acquirements, but enough to enable him to
live beyond the apprehension of want, dur-
ing the years of unproductive life, in the
early career of manhood. This patrimony
was, through the dishonesty and negligence
of his guardian, lost to him. Having at-
tended the local schools of Maryland, at the
age of thirteen he was entered a student at
Kenyon College, Ohio, from which he grad-
uated at the age of seventeen. Although
he had no special talent for public speaking,
his taste and inclination directed his atten-
tion to the bar as the business of life. As
has been said, he had sufficient means to
enable him to acquire an education and pro-
fession. He was not borne down by the
privations of poverty, nor was he enervated
by the e.xpectation of hereditary riches.
The lines had fallen to him in the golden
mean, between want and wealth. After
leaving college, he went to Lenox, Massa-
chusetts, and read law in the office of Judge
Henry W. Bishop, then one of the leading
lawyers of Massachusetts. After remaining
in the law office of Judge Bishop about two
years, he attended the New Haven Law
School for one year. With a good classical
education, a course of reading in the office
of Judge Bishop, and a term at New Haven,
he was fully prepared to enter upon the
responsible and arduous duties of a practic-
ing lawyer. His residence in Ohio, and
other information, impressed on his mind
the magnitude of the resources of the Miss-
issippi Valley, especially the northwest; and
on being admitted to the bar he emigrated,
in the year 1835, to Illinois. It has been
said, "At the time he sought his home in
the west as a very young man, he traversed
the breadth of nearly five states then in
comparative infancy, that he might grow
with the growth, and strengthen with the
strength of that commonwealth, which has
so honored him by its confidence, and whose
history his name has enriched in the ex-
ample of a great character." He first
located at Pekin, but after a short time, in
1836, he removed to Bloomington, which
for a period of fifty years was his home.
In 1838 he WES married to Miss Sarah
W. Walker, daughter of Judge William P.
Walker, of Lenox, Massachusetts. She wa
lO
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
well worthy to be the wife of Judge Davis,
and shared with him the privations of his
early struggles, and the properity of his la-
ter triumphs, with all the grace and dignity
that is born of the beauty of goodness. The
Judge, on coming to the years of responsible
life, followed the hereditary tendency of his
family in politics, and became an ardent
Whig. He had a great admiration for Mr.
Clay, which amounted to an enthusiasm.
In 1840 he was the Whig candidate in the
Bloomington district for state senator, but
the majority being largely against his party,
he was defeated by Governor John Moore,
then and for many years after one of the
popular Democrats of the state. While the
Judge was active in politics, he did not per-
mit his party to interfere with his practice.
He was most diligent in and devoted to his
profession. Shortly after his coming to the
bar, he was offered the position of clerk of
the court, in which office he could make
four times his income from his practice; but
he declined, having no doubt the inspiration
of that hope, which, in the end of his ca-
reer, placed him among the most distin-
guished jurists of the United States. Dan-
iel Webster had the same experience with a
clerkship in the commencement of his ca-
reer as a lawyer, and disposed of it in the
same way — much to the disgust and disa-
pointment of his father. In 1844 Judge
Davis was elected to the lower house of
the Illinois legislature, and distinguished
himself by the clearness and accuracy of his
views of the law, and his great capacity of
labor in the committee room. He declined
a re-nomination. Although pronounced in
his political opinions, he was not a politi-
cian; he delighted in the practice of law,
and the acquirement of that information
which would enable him to discharge the
higher functions of judge. During the time
of his practice, the bar of central Illinois
was very able, and afterwards became most
dirtinguished. Among the prominent were
Mr. Lincoln, Judge Logan, Judge Douglas,
Colonel Baker — one of the most brilliant
orators of his day — Judge Trumbull, Major
Stuart, Mr. Browning and Colonel Hardin.
It would be untrue, and therefore un-
just to the memory of Judge Davis, to rank
him with some of those names as a practic-
ing lawyer. He always disclaimed the com-
parison, and an honest chronicler should
disclaim it for him. The profession of law
had to him a wider range than the ambition
of the barrister. Nature had made him a
judge by the same mysterious economy that
it had made others advocates, and while he
was not to wear the glory of the gown, he
was to be graced by the beauty of the
ermine. While at the bar he had a judicial
cast ot mind, and his career as a lawyer
marks the high mission and duty of the truly
professional in the economy of society. In
1847 he was elected to the constitutional
convention which framed the constitution of
1848, and he bore a very important part,
especially in work providing for and estab-
lishing the judicial department. During his
public life as a legislator he has been con-
spicuous in his efforts to remodel and im-
prove the judicial machinery of both the state
and national governments. The present
system of federal appellate jurisdiction is
modeled on the plan proposed by him when
a member of the senate of the United
States, and which passed that body with
marked unanimity. At the time of the
adoption of the constitution of 1848 he had
been at the bar about twelve years, and
during that time had most diligently given
his attention to the practice, and had im-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
II
pressed upon the mind of the bar and the
people of central Illinois the fact that he
was most eminently qualified for the bench.
At the first election of judge, without oppo-
sition he was elected in a circuit composed
of fourteen counties, embracing McLean
and Sangamon. At the time he became
identified with the bar of Illinois, in 1836,
Mr. Lincoln was struggling in the com-
mencement of that career which not only
made him conspicuous in the ranks of the
profession, but marked him as one of the
greatest men of history. Between him and
Judge Davis, from their first acquaintance
to the close of Mr. Lincoln's life, a most
cordial intimacy existed. In the exercise of
that unerring judgment which enabled the
Judge to pass upon the qualities of men, he
discerned in Mr. Lincoln intellectual and
moral attributes of the highest order.
After Mr. Davis became judge, Mr. Lin-
coln continued to travel the circuit, attend-
ing court in all counties in the circuit, con-
tributing by his learning and ability to the
administration of justice, and to the social
enjoyment of life by a humor unsurpassed in
the richness of its merriment. In 1848 the
soil of the circuit had not been broken by the
survey of a railroad, and his duties as judge
required him to hold two sessions of the
court in each year, in fourteen of the largest
counties of the state. The clearness and
quickness of his intellect, his preparatory
education, both literary and professional,
and his practice, had fully capacitated him
to discharge with promptness the various
and laborious duties of his position. In
some of the qualities of a judge he has but
few superiors in the long line of judicial
ability with which our history as a people
has been graced. The important duty of a
judge is not all performed in the statement
and application of the just principles of the
law; these can be gathered, in a majority of
cases, from vast storehouses of jurispru-
dence, to which in England and America,
the eminent judges and lawyers have con-
tributed; but to ascertain the truth, to elimi-
nate error, and to adjust the rights of
parties, on the facts as they really exist, is
the exercise of a faculty that cannot be di-
rected by adjudged cases. The preservation
of estates and the protection of infants
against the incompetency or dishonesty of
guardians, and the rapacity of unscrupulous
speculators, marked one of his traits as a
circuit judge. His faithfulness in behalf of
the trust estate of wards may have been
strengthened by his own experience, the
estate inherited from his father having been
squandered by an unscrupulous and irrespon-
sible guardian. He had great faith in the
ultimate value of Illinois land, and it re-
quired a very urgent necessity to justify the
sale of an infant's real estate. His admin-
istration of the law in the circuit court was
most eminently satisfactory to the people
and the bar. But few appeals were taken
from his decisions, and his dispatch of the
public business was a marvel of efficiency
and industry. He was a natural born judge,
and while he was not tyrannical, he forcibly
exercised power to accomplish the ends of
justice. After his election as judge in 1848,
he ceased any active agency in politics, but
continued his adhesion to the Whig party
until its disruption after the disastrous cam-
paign of 1852. Although anti-slavery in his
thoughts and feeling, he disliked the radical
tendency of the Abolitionists. In the cam-
paign of 1858 he took a great interest, being
opposed to repeal of the Missouri con\pro-
mise, and a devoted friend of Mr. Lincoln.
Mr. Lincoln and Judge Douglas had been
12
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
the great champions of the Whig and Demo-
cratic parties, and aside from Judge Davis'
persona! attachment to Mr. Lincoln, he was
interested in him as the great leader of the
opposition to the Democratic party. Mr.
Lincoln, though defeated for Senator, laid
the foundation in 1858 for his election to the
Presidency. Upon his great success in the
joint debate in 1858, Judge Davis, in com-
mon with the rest of Mr. Lincoln's personal
friends in Illinois, enlarged the boundaries
of his ambition, and from that time he was
an avowed candidate for the Presidency.
In that candidacy Judge Davis took a lively
interest, and bore a most distinguished part.
He thought that the aspirations of his most
intimate friend for the highest office in the
land justified his participation in politics.
The National Convention of the Republicans
met in Chicago on the i6th day of May,
i860, and to that convention he was one of
the delegates-at-large. He was so much
devoted to the interests of Mr. Lincoln that
he could not absent himself from the con-
vention, and besides, it was Mr. Lincoln's
personal desire that he should attend.
This was the first great convention held
by the Republican party, and had before it
as candidates the most distinguished states-
men of that party and of its delegates, the
ablest members and the most accomplished
politicians. Judge Davis, from the com-
mencement to the close, was recognized as
the leader of Mr. Lincoln's forces, and
without his agency in that convention it
may be doubted whether he would have re-
ceived the nomination. In his adhesion to
Mr. Lincoln he was not actuated by his
personal friendship, but by an abiding faith
in the ability and integrity of the man.
While he had no apprehension that the
election of a Republican as President would
involve the country in war, he thought that
the grave responsibility that would fall upon
the choice of that party would require
ability of the highest order and patriotism
of the most heroic mold. He took a great
interest in the campaign which followed the
nomination, but did not participate in it as
an active politician. He continued to hold
the Circuit Court uninterruptedly until the
autumn of 1862.
During the first year of the war the De-
partment of Missouri, through the inefficient
administration of the quartermaster, became
a chaos of confusion, with millions of
money contracted and claimed, with honest
demands delayed and dishonest claims
pressed for payment. The President, to
relieve the embarrassment of the situation,
appointed a commission consisting of Judge
Davis, General Holt and Mr. Campbell, of
St. Louis, to investigate and pass judgment
upon the rights of the parties. It was an
immense work of investigation, and required
the highest grade of talent to bring order
and justice out of the confusion. The
three men as a combination had the best
quality of ability for the task — Judge Davis
and General Holt being eminent lawyers,
and Mr. Campbell being one of the most
experienced merchants of St. Louis. The
findings and reports of that commission
have been quoted by the highest courts of
the land, and the result accomplished by it
is an enduring compliment to the integrity
and capacity of the men who composed it.
During the fourteen years in which Judge
Davis presided in the Circuit Court of
Illinois the popular estimate which the bar
and the people had made of his ability to per-
form the duties was justified beyond the most
sanguine expectations of his friends, so that
when a vacancy occurred in the Supreme
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
13
Court of the United States in tiie Circuit
including the State of Illinois, he was recog-
nized by the bar as the person to be ap-
pointed to that responsible position. The
President had an acquaintance with all the
prominent lawyers of the circuit, and had
the most intimate knowledge of the ability
of Judge Davis, and into his hands, by the
Constitution, was committed the power and
duty of selecting from those lawyers a fit
justice for the most important court ever
instituted by man. In the quality of Wash-
ington, which in the selection of a public
officer arose superior to the obligation of
personal friendship, President Lincoln, as
shown by his administration, was not defi-
cient; and it must be presumed that in the
selection of Judge Davis the public had a
just regard for the e.xigencies of the condi-
tion of the country which prompted his
selection as one of the justices of the United
States Supreme Court. After a service of
fourteen years on the circuit bench of
Illinois he was, in November, 1862, trans-
ferred to the higher jurisdiction of the
national judiciary. He had not been accus-
tomed to the accuracy of judicial thought
required in the preparation of written
opinions, but had most thoroughly investi-
gated and studied the law in all the leading
features of its administratton. At the time
he became a member of the Supreme Court
it was composed of some of the ablest
judges of its entire history. The promo-
tion was well calculated to embarrass him
with grave apprehensions of his success, for
while he was brave and fearless when bold-
ness was a virtue, he had a modest appre-
ciation of his own ability. His opfnions,
when deliberately formed, though firm,
while in the process of development, were
susceptible to every legitimate and logical
influence. At the time he became a mem-
ber of the Supreme Court many questions
of importance were pending — questions not
of property, not of individual reputation —
but great questions of international and
public law, questions of civil liberty, not in
the interpretation of statutes, but in the
construction of the constitution of the
United States. He was eminently conserv-
ative in the tendency of his mind and judg-
ment; and while he did not coincide with
many of the theories of constitutional con-
struction in favor of a strong government,
he believed in the sovereignty of the Federal
power, in the passage and execution of such
laws as it might determine were within the
purview of the Constitution, He believed
in that theory of the Constitution which
recognized the Union, not as a mere compact
between the States, but as a government
formed upon the adoption of the people,
and creating direct relations between itself
and the citizen. In the discharge of his
new duty as a justice of the Supreme Court
he soon impressed his brethren of the bench
with his superior judicial qualifications, and
he wrote but few opinions until the Ameri-
can bar was satisfied that the President
made no mistake in his selection of a judge.
The period of the war was remarkably
prolific in forcing upon the consideration ot
all the departments of the Government new
issues of legal inquiry. The financial policy
of the Government, the belligerent rights of
enemies, questions of personal liberty, mil-
itary commissions, questions of prize — in
fact all the interests of fifty millions of peo-
ple, both of peace and war, were the sub-
ject matter of jurisdictions from 1862 to
1877. One of the most important cases of
the period was assigned to him — a case
which excited great public interest and
14
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
provoked much popular discussion. The
matter at issue, being a question of indi-
vidual liberty, and the power of the Gov-
ernment in time of war, made it one of
the great historical cases, ranking in impor-
tance with Marbury vs. Madison, and the
Dartmouth College case. It is the case of
ex parte Milligan, and an examination of it
will justify the resolution of the McLean
county bar "That we do most especiallj'
appreciate, as fine specimens of judicial
statement, his opinions which embrace a
discussion of the genius and mold of the
American government, and recognize those
opinions as worthy of a place among the
great judicial interpretations of the Ameri-
can Constitution." The leading thoughts of
the decision are: " The Constitution of the
United States is a law for rulers and people
equally in war and in peace, and covers
with the shield of its protection all classes
of men, and at all times, and under all cir-
cumstances. The government, within the
constitution, has all the powers granted to
it, which are necessary to preserve its exist-
ance, as has been happily proved by the re-
sult of the great effort to overthrow it." It
will be seen by an examination of the re-
ports containing his opinions, that he fear-
lessly followed the dictates of an honest
judgment, regardless of what might be the
prejudice or passion of the hour, and wheth-
er his reason was on one side or the other
of the line of popular clamor, he followed
the logic of his convictions.
After the close of the war many cases
came before the Supreme Court involving
the constitutionality of the legal tender
acts. In the case of Hepburn vs. Griszuold,
a majority of the Court held that " There
is in the constitution no express grant of
legislative power to make any description
of credit currency a legal tender in payment
of debt." The effect of this decision was to
invalidate by judicial judgment one of the
most important acts of the Government in
the prosecution of the war, and to disturb
the business of the country, by making
nothing but coin applicable to the payment
of debts contracted before the passage of
the acts of Congress providing for the
issue of Treasury notes. To that de-
cision Judge Davis, with Judges Swayne
and Miller dissented. In a short time,
after the promulgation of this decision,
other cases reached the Supreme Court in-
volving the same question, and in what is
known as the "legal tender cases" the
Court reversed the decision of Hepburn vs.
Griswold, by holding, " The acts of Con-
gress known as the Legal Tender Acts are
constitutional when applied to contracts
made before their passage, and are also ap-
plicable to contracts made since." The
last decision was made by a divided Court,
Judge Davis holding with the majority that
Congress had the power to pass the legal
tender acts of 1862 and 1S63. Mr. Choate,
with the wand of his genius, has marked
with beautiful accuracy the perfect judge:
" He shall know nothing about the parties;
everything about the case. He shall do
everything for justice; nothing for himself;
nothing for his patrons; nothing for his sov-
ereign. If on one side is the executive
power and the legislature and the people —
the source of his honors, the givers of his
daily bread — and on the other side an indi-
vidual, nameless and odious, his eye is to
see neither great nor small, attending only to
the trepidations of the balance." " Give,"
says Mr. Choate, ' ' to the community such a
Judge and I care little who makes the rest
of the constitution, or what party adminis-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
15
ters it. It will be a free government." To
this ideal, high though it is, Judge Davis at-
tained. Although he had not participated
in politics since the convention of i860, in
January, 1872, the Labor Reform party
nominated him for President.
Owing to the dissatisfaction in the Re-
publican party the liberal movement was
inaugurated in the early part of 1872, which
culminated in a convention in May; and to
that convention his name was submitted as
a candidate. Illinois was divided between
Judge Davis and Senator Trumbull, which
destroyed the chances of both. The friends
of Judge Davis were largely in the majority,
but there being no state convention held
in Illinois, the question had to be settled by
an equal division of the delegation. The
result of the convention was the nomination
of Mr. Greeley, and the memorable cam-
paign of 1872. In the election of 1876
in Illinois neither of the great parties se-
cured a majority of the legislature, and the
balance of power was held by the Inde-
pendent party, which nominated Judge
Davis as its candidate for the United States
Senate. General Logan was the nominee
for the Republican party and various per-
sons were supported by the Democracy.
After a contest lasting from the first of Jan-
uary until the first of March, the Democ-
racy united with the Independents and
elected the Judge a Senator from the 4th of
March, 1877. The honor was unsolicited on
his part, and no effort was made by him
to influense the choice of the legislature.
He did not exchange the court for the
senate because he preferred the dignity
and duty of the latter; but because the
legislature tendered him the place, and
under all the circumstances he did not
feel at liberty to decline. His career
as judge commenced in 1848 and ended
in 1877, making a continuous service of
twenty-nine years of judicial labor. Upon
his retirement his brethern of the bench
left upon the records of the court an en-
during memorial of his many virtues as
shown by correspondence. On the 5th of
March, 1877, he addressed his brethren of
the court: " My official connection with the
Supreme Court of the United States closes
to-day. Having passed all the years of my
active life at the bar or on the bench, it is
not without serious misgivings that I enter
upon a new sphere of public service; but I
have not felt at liberty to decline a seat in
the Senate, with which I have been honored
by the General Assembly of the State of
Illinois. Having severed the relations which
have existed between us for so many years,
I beg leave to bear my testimony to the
eminent learning, ability and integrity which
have characterized your judicial labors.
From the organization of the government,
the Supreme Court has been composed of
able and upright judges. In my judgment,
it is now as worthy of the confidence of the
American people as it ever has been at any
period of its history. Since I was invited
to its councils by President Lincoln, six of
its members have been numbered with the
dead. I take great satisfaction in the re-
flection that my relations with them, and
all my associates, have been uniformly kind
and cordial. In offering you my parting
salutations, I beg you to be assured of the
respect and sincere good wishes with which
I remain your friend and servant." To
which the Court by letter replied: "We
have received with sincere regret your letter
announcing that your official connection
with us is closed. During the fifteen years
in which you have been a member of this
i6
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Court, questions of the gravest character
have come before it for adjudication, and
you have borne your full share of the labor
and responsibility which their decision in-
volved. We shall miss you in the confer-
ence room, your wise judgment and your
just appreciation of facts; in the reception
room, your kind and courteous greetings.
With the hope that your life in the future
may be as useful as it has been in the past,
and that the ties of personal friendship
which now bind us so closely to you may
never be broken, we subscribe ourselves very
sincerely your friends."
While he had but little legislative expe-
rience when he became a member of the
Senate, he at once took a position among
the leaders of that distinguished body,
serving on the judiciary committee with
Edmunds, Conkling, Thurman, Garland,
Carpenter, and other great lawyers of the
American Senate. In November, 1879, less
than two years after his election, Mrs.
Davis, who had been in delicate health for
some time, died at her old home in Massa-
chusetts, leaving after her the memory of
many acts of kindness in alleviating the
wants of the poor, both in Washington and
the city in which she lived for nearly half a
century. Judge Davis served as acting vice-
president for nearly two years, and with but
little experience in the technical knowledge
of parliamentary law he decided every
question that came before the Senate with-
out submission, and never was reversed by
the action of the Senate. In the Senate,
as in every other situation, he commanded
the respect and confidence of his associates,
and retired from that body at the end of
his term to enjoy the ease and comfort of
private life. As a member of the judiciary
cuaimittee, he performed faithful service in
shaping the legislation of Congress during
the entire term of his office.
In March, 1883, upon the expiration of
his term as senator, he was married to Miss
Adeline Burr, of Fayetteville, North Caro-
lina, a lady of many accomplishments and
fitted in every respect for the high social
position which she occupied as the wife of
Judge Davis. After his retirement from the
senate, he devoted his attention to private
business, which, on account of his extensive
property, was large and exacting. As he
approached the age of seventy, the vigor of
his constitution and the vivacity of his
spirits became much impaired by the en-
croachments of disease, and on the 26th of
June, 1 886, after an illness of several
months, he passed the mysterious change of
death. At the time of his decease, though
retired from public life, men of all creeds
and of all parties anxiously hoped for his
restoration to health and vigor. As a pub-
lic man, he filled no ordinary space in the
affections of the people, and in the appre-
ciation of personal friendship throughout
the length and breadth of a land made bet-
ter and happier by the goodness and great-
ness of his character. He left surviving as
children Mr. George Perrin Davis and
Mrs. Sarah D. Swayne to perpetuate the
worth of a life rich in the goodness of duty
performed. Nature and education had
stamped upon him every lineament of gen-
tility. Though he was wealthy, fortune-
making was not a passion of his life. He
loved thrift, independence and possession;
but mere wealth had no allurements for
him. He served the state as a judge at a
nominal salary, to the great sacrifice of his
pecuniary interests, and his whole life was
devoted to the public service to the detri-
ment of his private fortune. His life was a
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
17
success; not accidental, but deserved. He
approached the ladder of fortune and fame
and placed his feet on every round on which
he stood as the result of his own labor and
merit. If he had opportunity, he created
it; if he had success, he achieved it; if he
had victory, he won it. He produced the
conditions of his own advancement. He
filled three score and ten years with good-
ness and crowned them with greatness.
He commanded the respect of his fellow-
citizens of all sections and of all parties,
and, in the language of Judge Kelley: " He
is so well known to the country by his
career as an independent senator and a
learned and conscientious justice of the su-
preme court of the United States."
TAMES M. STINE, of Saybrook, Illinois,
<J after years of honest toil, is now liv-
ing a retired life, enjoying the fruits of his
industry and thirft. He was born in Mon-
roe county, Indiana, May 15, 1847, and in
his native county and state he grew to man-
hood, being reared to farm life. His edu-
cational advantages were fairly good, and he
received a good common-school education.
He remained with his parents until grown,
in the meantime assisting in the farm work.
He was married in Monroe county, Indiana,
July 16, 1868, to Miss Margaret Lainen,
also a native of Monroe county. After his
marriage, he located on a farm in that
county land there engaged in farming for
five years.
Believing he could better himself in the
prairie state, Mr. Stine came with his fam-
ily to McLean county in 1874, and located
first in West township, where he rented a
farm and there remained three years. He
then moved into Arrowsmith township,
rented land and farmed for nine years. At
the e.xpiration of that time he moved into
Cheney's Grove township, and purchased a
farm of one hundred and si.xty acres. He
did not, however, locate on that farm, but
rented it out, and on another rented farm he
moved with his family. Four years later he
sold the farm he bought at a nice advance,
and later bought a farm of three hundred
and twenty acres in Jasper county, Indiana.
He did not move to his new purchase, but
continued to reside in McLean county and
still continued to farm. He later sold his
Indiana farm, but continued farming in Mc-
Lean county until his removal to Saybrook,
in 1898. In the meantime he bought some
nice lots and built a good residence, in Say-
brook. In 1896 he purchased a hardware
establishment in Saybrook, and taking into
partnership his son, H. D., he carried on
that line of trade, the son taking the active
business management. He continued in
this line for about two years and then sold
his interest to the son, the latter continuing
the business.
Mr. and Mrs. Stine are the parents of
si.x children, H. D., mentioned above, being
the eldest. William R. , the ne.xt born, is
engaged in the draying business in Saybrook.
J. B., Ila M., James and Daisy are at home.
Politically, Mr. Stine is an earnest and
true Democrat, having supported the men
and measures of that party since casting his
first presidential vote for Horatio Seymour in
1868. He would never accept any local
office save that of school director. For fif-
teen years he served as a member of the
school board, the greater part of the time
being clerk of the district. He is a member
of the Christain church of Saybrook, of
which body his wife is also a member. So-
cially, they are held in high esteem, and
[8
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
they have many friends in the eastern part
of the county, where they are well known,
and where they have resided a quarter of a
century.
HUGH D. STINE, who is engaged in
the hardware business in Saybrook, is
one of the most active and enterprising of
the younger business men of the county.
He is a native of McLean county, and was
born in West township, March 28, 1875.
He is the son of James M. and Margaret
(Lamen) Stine, of whom mention is made
elswhere in this work. He remained with
his parents until he attained his majority.
His primary education was obtained in the
district schools of Arrowsmith and Cheney's
Grove township, and was supplemented
by the high school of Saybrook. He then
entered the State Normal school at Normal,
which he attended several terms, finishing
his education in that institution. He then
engaged in teaching, which profession he
followed about two years and a half. In
1896, he entered into partnership with his
father and engaged in his present line of
business. In the three years which have
followed he has built up an excellent trade.
His father remained with him until 1898,
since which time he has been alone. In
addition to a stock of shelf and heavy hard-
ware, he handle in the seasons agricultural
implements of allkinds, including repairs for
the various kinds of machines in use by the
farmers. He has shown himself a good
business man, and is well deserving of the
trade which he has secured.
Religiously, Mr. Stine is connected with
the Christian church of Saybrook, and takes
quite an active part in the work of the
church. At present he is one of the trustees
of the church. Fraternally he is a member
of the Knights of Pythias, and has passed
through all the chairs of the lodge in Say-
brook, and is now past chancellor. He is
also a member of Saybrook Lodge, No. 460,
I. O. O. F. As a stockholder in the Fair
Association of Saybrook, he takes an
active interest in it, and gives of his time
and means to make it a success. In every-
thing of a public nature for the best inter-
est of his adopted city he shows his public
spirit, and is regarded by the people of the
city as one of its most enterprising men.
Politically, he is a Democrat, and is now
serving as one of the aldermen of the city.
WILLIAM WILES. In this enlight-
ened age, when men of energy, in-
dustry, and merit are rapidly pushing their
way to the front, those who by their indi-
vidual efforts have won fame and fortune,
may promptly claim recognition. Years
ago when the west was entering upon an
era of growth and development, and
Illinois was laying its foundation for a
future prosperity, there came hither from
all parts of Europe men of sturdy independ-
ence, and with determination to succeed,
that justly entitles them to representation
in the history of the great west. Among
this class is numbered Mr. Wiles, who after
an active and useful life is now enjoying a
well-earned retirement from labors in his
pleasant home in Chenoa. He was born in
Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England, on the
24th of May, 1820, and is a son of William
and Sarah (Sanling) Wiles, whose home was
in England, and after years of toil and a
life of fruitfulness were laid to rest beneath
the soil they loved best. William was
reared in England, and at the age of ten
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
19
years, atter his father's death, commenced
the struggle for a HveHhood. From the
commencement of his career until his re-
tirement in 1883, Mr. Wiles has followed
agricultural pursuits, perfecting himself in
all branches, and the present thrifty condi-
tion of his farm in Yates township, recently
given over to the charge of his son, speaks
for itself of his understanding and good
management. For the first two years of
his working life he received the meagre sum
of eight cents per day, and the two years
following, twelve cents. During his four-
teenth and fifteenth years he received sixteen
cents per day, and throughout all these
years furnished his own board. Mr. Wiles
then entered the employ of a farmer from
whom he received twelve dollars and fifty
cents per year, and with whom he remained
for thirteen years, afterward working for
various other farmers until his twenty-sev-
enth year. His experiences, though hard,
were not without their benefits. The
thorough understanding and experienced e-
rived from the many years of hard labor,
enabled him to fill the responsible position
of overseer of a large farm, extending over
many acres, and upon which he remained
for seven years.
On the i6th of May, 1847, Mr. Wiles
married Frances Ann Frank, an English
woman. Seven children have been born to
them, namely: Eliza, deceased; George,
Sarah, William, John, Florence, deceased;
and Edward, also deceased. The four for-
mer were born before Mr. and Mrs. Wiles
left England. In 1857 the family emi-
grated to America, locating in Eureka, Illi-
nois, where they resided for seven years,
and then came to Yates township, where
Mr. Wiles had purchased a farm of one hun-
dred and twenty acres, and where he put
into practice all the modern and scientific
methods known to the agricultural world at
that time, but giving the greater part of his
attention to the raising of hogs. In 1883
he placed the management of the farm in
the hands of his son Edward, and removed
to Chenoa, where he now resides in his
cheerful and comfortable home, enjoying
the fruits of his former active life. In the
quiet evening of life, shadows ofttimes come
to darken our horizon. On the 2d of Octo-
ber, 1897, Mr. Wiles experienced the sad
loss of his wife, who died in her seventy-
fifth year. Our subject gives his support
to the Democratic party, and while not
aspiring to public office, his fellow-citizens
have called upon him to serve as road com-
missioner, which he has done for three terms,
giving due satisfaction. He is a self-made
man in every respect; his life has been
long, eventful and useful, and in his declin-
ing years he has the love and respect of all
who know him. He is not a member of
any religious body, but he is a true soldier
of the cross, who upholds and believes in
the principles of truth as taught by the
Savior of men.
JOHN H. SPENCE, an enterprising and
successful farmer residing on section 21,
Cheney's Grove, McLean county, was born
in Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, August 19,
1850, a son of John A. Spence, a portrait
painter and artist of considerable ability.
The father was born in St. Louis, Mis-
souri, of which place his father, Henry
Spence, was an early settler and business
man. In Xenia, Ohio, John A. Spence
married Miss Maria Horn, a native of that
city and a daughter of John Horn, who was
born in Germany and was a pioneer of
20
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Ohio. For some years after their marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Spence continued to reside in
Xenia and then removed to Illinois, locat-
ing in Stanton, where the father died in
1858. The mother is still living, a hale
and hearty old lady of about seventy years,
and finds a pleasant home with our subject.
In their family were six children, five of
whom are still living, namely: Sarah, now
the widow of Elijah Stephens, and a resi-
dent of Denver, Colorado; J. H., our sub-
ject; Mary, wife of David Shelbrick, of
Columbus, Ohio; Julia, wife of John Saylor,
of Saybrook, Illinois; and Catherine Card,
a resident of McLean. Anna died in child-
hood at Heyworth, this county.
When a lad of ten years, John H. Spence
came with his mother to Heyworth, and in
this county he grew to manhood, his edu-
cation being mostly acquired in the public
schools of Heyworth. As his father was
dead, he lived upon a farm with his uncle,
Robert Mcllvain, an early settler of Mc-
Lean county, and he early acquired an ex-
cellent knowledge of agricultural pursuits.
On starting out in life for himself, he rented
and operated some of ICerrick's land in
Funk's Grove township, and later farmed
on the Sherwood land in Anchor township
for four years. In 18S3 he purchased one
hundred and sixty acres near Gibson City,
in Ford county, and to the cultivation and
improvement of that place he devoted his
time and attention for seven years. He
then sold out and returned to McLean
county, buying a fairly well improved farm
of one hundred and twenty acres on section
21, Cheney's Grove township, where he now
resides. He has since added to this a
twenty-acre tract, and now has a valuable
and fertile farm of one hundred and forty
acres, which he has placed under a high
state of cultivation. It is divided into fields
of convenient size by well-kept fences, and
he has built a good barn and cribs, set out
fruit and shade trees and made many per-
manent improvements on the place, so that
it is now one of the most desirable of its
size in the locality.
Politically, Mr. Spence is identified with
the Prohibition party, but formerly was a
Republican. He and his mother hold mem-
bership in the Methodist Episcopal church
in Saybrook, and have the respect and es-
teem of all who know them. He started
out in life for himself in limited circum-
stances, but by hard labor, close applica-
tion, untiring perseverance and good man-
agement he has become quite well-to-do,
and is regarded as one of the most success-
ful as well as one of the most reliable farm-
ers of his community.
ARTHUR RODMAN, secretary and man-
ager of the Bloomington Store Fixture
Company, is a well-known and successful
business man of Bloomington. He is a
native of McLean count}', born in Old Town
township August 17, 1865, and is a son of
Francis A. and Angelina (Matthews) Rod-
man, who were among the early settlers of
the county. The Rodman family trace
their ancestry back to John Rodman, a
Quaker, who was expelled from England on
account of his extreme democratic views,
and who located on the island of Barbados,
where he became a large sugar planter,
owning the entire island. Some of his chil-
dren later settled in New England, and the
family have since been prominently identi-
fied with the history of this country, some
occupying high stations, furnishing to the
country eminent politicians, members of
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
21
congress and of the legislature, ministers
of the gospel, lawyers and military men.
During the Revolutionary war representa-
tives of the family took a prominent part in
the struggle on the American side. One of
the family is the celebrated Captain Rod-
man, inventor of the Rodman gun.
Scammon Rodman, the grandfather of
our subject, was born in Berks county,
Pennsylvania, about 1811, and from there
removed to Ohio, where he became an ex-
tensive farmer and stock raiser. He there
married Eliza Wolf, by whom he had ten
children. He became quite prominent in
Ohio, but with the thought that he could
better himself and give his children better
opportunities for advancement, he came to
McLean county in 1853 and located in Old
Town township, where he purchased a large
tract of land, and again engaged in general
farming and stock raising. He became very
well-to-do, and was quite prominent in local
and state politics, serving his township as
supervisor and in other positions. He was
first a Whig, and on the death of that party
became a stanch Republican. He died in
Old Town township in 1895. His wife
preceded him some fifteen years.
Francis A. Rodman was born in Zanes-
ville, Ohio, June 20, 1837, and there spent
his boyhood and received his education in
the public schools. He came with the fam-
ily to this county in 1853, and devoted him-
self to agricultural pursuits. He yet re-
mains an honored citizen of the township,
and is well known and universally respected.
He was married in Old Town township to
Angeline Matthews. Mrs. Rodman died in
March, 1870, leaving four sons. Henry H.
residing near Bloomington. Samuel, now
deceased. Arthur, our subject, is next in
order of birth. Bert, a twin brother of
Arthur, is now deceased. The parents are
members of the Methodist Protestant
church, and in politics the father is a Re-
publican.
Arthur Rodman was reared on his fa-
ther's farm, and was educated in Old Town,
receiving a good common-school education.
He was enabled to pass a successful exami-
nation for a teacher's certificate, and for
five successive years taught the home school.
By a coincidence he was brought into the
manufacturing business; having invented a
number of convenient devices in the line of
store fixtures, he engaged in their manufac-
ture. The demand for them was much
greater than was expected, and in order to
increase the facilities for their manufacture
in 1893 he organized the Bloomington
Store Fixture Company, with a capital stock
of twenty thousand dollars, and of which S.
R. White is president. By the company he
was made secretary and general manager, a
position that he still holds. The company
occupies much the larger part of the White
building, 76x112 feet, using four floors and
the basement. The factory is supplied with
all modern and up-to-date machinery, and
manufacture a superior line of bank furni-
ture and store fixtures, and having a trade
that extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and from the gulf to the Dominion of
Canada.
Mr Rodman has had the sole responsi-
bility and management of the company since
its inception, and has made of it a fine
success. Employment is given to about
fifty skilled workmen in making the furni-
ture, which is the finest manufactured in
the country, and is now one of the noted in-
dustries of the city. Mr. Rodman has made
all the designs and drawings for the work,
and while he had no advantages in the way
22
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of instruction in this line, he is an excellent
designer, as is shown by his work and
the demand for the goods. One of the
secrets of his success is that his designs are
all original. He devotes his whole time to
his work and has traveled all over the
country in the interest of the business.
On the 25th of June, 1896, Mr. Rodman
was united in marriage with Miss May
Leaton, of Bloomington, daughter of J.
H. Leaton, who was clerk of the circuit
court for twelve consecutive years. She is
a highly educated woman, a graduate of the
State Normal, in the class of 1894. She is
possessed of artistic ability of a high order
and is a good painter in water colors, and
her pen sketches are fine. The walls of
their beautiful home are decorated with
specimens of her artistic work. Their fine
residence on East Graham street was built
from designs furnished by Mr. Rodman, and
is constructed of finely selected woods, be-
ing very attractive to the eye.
Mr. and Mrs. Rodman are members of
the First Methodist Episcopal church of
Bloomington. Fraternally he is a member
of Bloomington Lodge, No. 43, A. F. & A.
M.; Remembrance Lodge, No. "JJ , I. O. O.
F. ; Jesse Fell Lodge, No. 164, K. P. He is
a representative of the younger business
men of Bloomington, and is deserving of
the respect in which he is held.
HON. JOSEPH W. FIFER, LL. D.,
stands pre-eminent, not alone among
the distinguished men of McLean county,
but of the state and nation as well. He is
a man of the people, standing in close touch
with them, and having that confidence in
the common people that distinguished our
first martyr president, Abraham Lincoln.
Like the latter, he boasts of no distin-
guished birth, but "blood will tell," and if
one has within him the making of a man,
time will develop any talent that he may
possess. The truth of this statement is
clearly shown in the life of "Private Joe "
Fifer, who has held the highest office with-
in the gift of the people of the state of
Illinois, an office which he filled with an
ability second to none who were ever called
upon to occupy the exalted position.
Joseph W. Fifer was born in Staunton,
Virginia in 1844, and with his parents, who
were natives of the same state, emigrated
to McLean county in 1857, locating in Dan-
vers township, where the elder Fifer en-
gaged in farming in connection with his
trade of brick laying.
Trained to be loyal and true to his coun-
try, when the safety of the government was
imperilled by those who would sever it in
twain, with his brother George, he walked
to Bloomington, a distance of fifteen miles,
and enlisted as a member of Company — ,
Thirty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
George, being the elder, was commissioned
first lieutenant, while Joseph entered the
ranks and was " only a private." As such
he served three full years, his career being
indeed an honorable one. The Thirty-third
regiment experienced hard service, making
a record equal to any in the service. Just '
after the siege and fall of Vicksburg, in
which the regiment took a prominent and
honorable part, the Thirteenth Army Corps,
to which it belonged, turned fiercely upon
General Johnston, who had during the siege
been threatening Grant's rear. On July 13,
1863, at Jackson, Mississippi, Sherman's
force assaulted the intrenchment of John-
ston, at which time Mr. Fifer, the youthful
private, fell in front of a rebel abattis.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
23
pierced through the body by a minie ball.
His comrades, who saw him fall, thought he
was surely killed. The weather was torrid
in the extreme, and the surgeon. Rev. Dr.
Rex, told Lieutenant Fifer that unless ice
could be procured his brother Joseph must
die. It was fifty miles to Vicksburg, the
nearest place where ice could be had,
and the country was hostile, wild and war-
torn. Johnston B. Lott, a comrade, who
touched elbows with Joseph in the ranks,
bravely volunteered to go with an ambu-
lance for ice. His mission succeeded, ice
was procured, and Joseph's life was saved.
As soon as the nature of the wound would
admit, he set off, mangled and almost
dying to seek health once more under his
father's lowly roof, up in " God's coun-
try." His recovery from his terrible wound
was, perhaps, more complete than was ever
known from one of like severity. For this
result he has largely to thank his rugged
constitution, his temperate habits, and his
early inurement to labor and hardships.
Bad as he was wounded, he did not ask or
receive discharge from service because of
disability. His brother George was killed
in the engagement before Fort Esperanza,
Texas, a short time before the close of hos-
tilities.
On receiving his discharge, Mr. Fifer
returned to his old home, but it was not to
there long remain. He determined, in
some way, to secure an education. While
he believed that all labor was honorable, he
yet had an ambition to make for himself a
name, to be something more than a com-
mon day laborer. His means were limited,
but his object must be attained, and so he
entered the Illinois Wesleyan University
from which he graduated in June, 1868.
After being admitted to the bar, it was
not long before the ability of Mr. Fifer was
recognized by his fellow-citizens, and in the
spring of 1871 he was elected corporation
counsel for the city of Bloomington. The
city then had more important legislation
than usual, the new state constitution hav-
ing made important changes in the law of
special assessments. Inexperienced as he
was, Mr. Fifer grappled manfully and suc-
cessfully with these new questions. In
1872, he was by almost unanimous consent
of the Republicans of the county, chosen
their candidate for state's attorney to which
office he was elected, and by re-election
served eight years.
In 1880, Mr. Fifer was elected to the
state senate, and it is only necessary to say
that he took a position in that body of
equal prominence with that which he held
at the bar. He acquired a state acquaint-
ance, and made friends of all he met. A
reputation for learning and ability had pre-
ceded him, and he was awarded places upon
some of the most important committees of
the senate, among them the judiciary com-
mittee and the committee on judicial de-
partment. His experience in the enforce-
ment of the original law had suggested
some important changes in the criminal
practice, which he took an early opportun-
ity to have incorporated in the statutes of
the state. Two of the most important of
these were the law in reference to contin-
uances and the law regulating changes of
venue in criminal cases. At the expiration
of his term in the senate he declined re-
election.
The career of Mr. Fifer in the senate
brought him into prominence before the
people of the state, and in 1880 he received
the nomination of the state Republican con-
vention for governor of the state. The can-
24
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
vass he made was a brilliant one, and every-
where "Private Joe" was cordially re-
ceived, and his election was secured by a
large majority. For four years his admin-
istration of the affairs of state was able and
dignified. From the inception of the Co-
lumbian idea, Governor Fifer was an enthu-
siastic supporter of the exposition; his in-
fluence was given unreservedly to the pas-
sage of the various enabling acts by which
the general assembly legalized the transfer
of the parks and the issue of Chicago bonds
to the corporation of the fair, and his
signature was given promptly to the final
measure by which the state of Illinois made
munificent appropriation for her buildings
and exhibit. In 1892 he was nominated
for re-election, but was defeated by John P.
Altgeld, going down in the great political
landslide of that year, his defeat, however,
being principally caused by his advanced
views in favor of compulsory education. In
1896 he was a prominent candidate before
the national Republican convention for the
vice-presidency, having support from many
of the states of the union.
On the 15th of June, 1870, Mr. Fifer was
united in marriage with Miss Gertrude
Lewis, and by this union there are two
children. Herman W. is a graduate of Will-
iams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts,
in the class of 1898, and is now in the law
department of Wesleyan University. Flor-
ence is now the wife of J. H. Bohrer, one
of the directors of the Corn Belt Bank of
Bloomington.
From 1891 to 1893 Mr. Fifer was one of
the trustees of Wesleyan University, from
which institution he received the degree of
LL. D., in 1892. He has always taken
special interest in educational affairs, his
struggles for an education making him the
more desirous of giving a better opportunity
to others, that they may not experience
such hardships. While in general terms it
is true that " a prophet is never without
honor, save in his own country," yet this
can hardly be said of Mr. Fifer. Those
who know him the best, and have known
him the longest, esteem him the highest.
He is in the prime of life, of vigorous frame,
capable of great endurance, and full of ac-
tivity. Success has crowned his efforts in
life, and he has acquired a competence ade-
quate to the wants of his generous but mod-
erate nature.
REUBEN MOORE BENJAMIN. Reu-
ben Moore Benjamin, the youngest son
of Darius and Martha (Rogers) Benjamin,
was born at Chatham Centre, Columbia
county, New York, June 29, 1833. His
father was a soldier in the war of 18 12, and
his grandfather, Ebenezer Benjamin, was
a captain in the Revolutionary army. His
father and his maternal grandfather, Timo-
thy Rogers, were of English, while his ma-
ternal grandmother, Sarah (MooreJ Rogers,
was of Welsh extraction. His ancestors on
both sides lived in Connecticut in the colo-
nial times. He was fitted for college at
Kinderhook Academy, New York, and in
1853 was graduated with honor at Amherst
College, Massachusetts. He was principal
of Hopkins Academy at Hadley, Massachu-
sets, 1853-54; a student in Harvard Law
School, 1854-55; and tutor in Amherst Col-
lege, 1855-56. In April, 1856, he came to
Bloomington, Illinois, and in the following
September, upon the examination certifi-
cate of Abraham Lincoln, was licensed to
practice law.
Shortly after his admission to the bar he
became a partner with General A. Gridley
HON. R. M. BENJAMIN.
THE NEW YORK
PUBCIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILD6f> fDONDATtONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
27
and Colonel J. H. Wickizer, and remained
with them as long as they continued to prac-
tice law. In 1863 he formed a partnership
with Thomas F. Tipton, afterward circuit
judge and member of congress; and since
then, at different times, he has been asso-
ciated as partner with Jonathan H. Rowell,
member of congress for several terms, Law-
rence Weldon, one of the judges of the
United States court of claims, and John J.
Morrissey. In 1869 he was elected a dele-
gate to the convention that framed the
state constitution of 1870, and served on
the important committees of bill of rights,
municipal corporations, state institutions,
and schedule. The bill of rights (Article
11), as drafted by him, was adopted by the
full committee and the convention with but
a single change. He introduced and caused
to be incorporated into that article the far-
reaching provision that "no law — making
any irrevocable grant of special privileges
or immunities shall be passed." In his
speech on the railroad article he took the
position, never before held in court, that the
power to limit the rates of charges of com-
mon carriers as the public good may require,
is a governmental power which no legisla-
ture can irrevocably abandon or bargain
away to any individual or corporation.
In 1872 he was one of the counsel for
the people in the celebrated Lexington case
{Chicago & Alton Railroad Companv v.
People, 67 111. II), which led to the legisla-
tion of 1873 prohibiting e.xtortion and un-
just discrimination in railroad charges. He
was subsequently employed as special coun-
sel for the State Board of Railroad and
Warehouse Commissioners, and assisted the
attorney-general in the prosecution of the
warehouse case {Muitn v. People, 69 111.
80), which was taken to the supreme court
2
of the United States, and being there af-
firmed {Miinn v. Illinois, 94 U. S. 113),
became the leading case in the series famil-
iarly known in 1876 as the "Granger
cases." These cases established the consti-
tutional power of the legislature to regulate
railroad and warehouse charges, and there-
by protect the public against imposition.
In the later case {Ruggles v. People, 91 111.
256), decided in 1878, the supreme court of
this state declared broadly that the legisla-
ture has the power to pass laws establishing
reasonable maximum rates of charges by
common carriers or others exercising a call-
ing or business public in its character, or in
which'the public have an interest to be pro-
tected against extortion or oppression. In
commenting on this case, the Western
Jurist says: "It is probable that the people
of the state are indebted for the results of
this agitation as given in the above decision
to Hon. R. M. Benjamin, of Bloomington,
in a greater degree than to any other single
individual. As a member of the constitu-
tional convention, he made the clearest and
most convincing argument in favor of the
rights of the people which was delivered in
that body, and as special counsel for the peo-
ple in the cases of the Chicago & Alton
Railroad Company v. People, and Miinn v.
People, have very materially contributed in
establishing the principle contended for by
him before the convention and established
in the above cases."
The ' ' Granger cases " have been repeat-
edly followed by the supreme court of the
United States: Budd \. New York (1891),
143 U. S. 517; Brass v. North Dakota
(1893). 153 U. S. 391.
In 1873 Mr. Benjamin was elected with-
out opposition to the office of county judge
of McLean county. He was re-elected in
28
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1877, and also in 1882. His judicial apti-
tude, the soundness of his decisions and the
quiet ease with which he dispatched busi-
ness won and held the respect and confi-
dence of the bar and of the people. He
preferred not to be a candidate again for
the office and accordingly retired from the
bench at the close of his third term, in De-
cember, 1886.
Upon the organization of the law depart-
ment of the Illinois Wesleyan University
(known as the Bloomington Law School),
in 1874, Judge Benjamin was appointed
dean of the law faculty. He is still connected
with the law school, having charge of the
subjects of real and personal property and
constitutional law. He has published the
following works: "Students' Guide to El-
ementary Law," " Principles of the Law of
Contracts," and "Principles of the Law of
Sales," which are used in several of the
leading law schools of the country. In 1880
the degree of LL. D. was conferred on him
by Illinois Wesleyan University.
Judge Benjamin was married at Chat-
ham, New York, September 15, 1856, to
Miss Laura, daughter of Mr. David G.
Woodin, who for many years was county
superintendent of schools, of Columbia
county. New York.
Probably the part that Judge Benjamin
took in the constitutional convention had a
more directly beneficial effect upon the citi-
zens of Illinois than any other of his acts;
and the arguments he brought to bear be-
fore that body, in behalf of the people, to
prevent railroad corporations from unjustly
discriminating against any section of the
state or against any citizen, displayed such
a deep knowledge of corporation law and
have had such an important bearing upon
the construction of law affecting corpora-
tions throughout the nation, that we here-
with reproduce in full the speech to which
reference has previously been made (De-
bates of Constitutional Convention, Vol. 2,
p. 1641):
Mr. Chairman: — Corporations, and es-
pecially railroad corporations, have within
the last few years assumed and exercised
powers incompatible with the public wel-
fare; and perhaps there is no danger so much
to be apprehended, and if possible guarded
against by people of this state as that which
has its source in the construction placed by
the courts upon what are called legislative,
or charter, contracts. In theory, railroad
corporations are created for the public good.
In practice, they become oppressive by
being allowed, under the claim of charter
contracts, to fix the rate of toll for the
transportation of persons and property.
Whenever the public interests demand
the construction of a railroad, the legisla-
ture, without any hesitancy, authorizes the
corporation to take private property— the
very homestead — for that purpose. When-
ever the same public interests require a lim-
itation of rates of railroad charges the plea
is set up that the legislature has no power,
whatever, to act upon the matter. The
principle of public benefit, when invoked in
aid of a railroad, is all-powerful. The same
principle, when appealed to for the protec-
tion of the people against imposition and
extortion, has hitherto been held to be ut-
terly powerless. The interest of individuals
must yield to that of the public. The in-
terest of the public has been declared to be
subordinate to that of railroad corporations.
And when we ask for the reason of this dis-
tinction between individual rights and cor-
poration rights — when we ask why it is that
public interests, although paramount to in-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
29
dividual interests, must succumb to corpor-
ate interests — we are told that the legisla-
ture has made contracts whereby it has ab-
dicated in favor of corporations the govern-
mental powers intrusted to it by the sover-
eign people. I say governmental powers,
because in the absence of a charter contract,
the power of the legislature to regulate and
limit the tolls which the owners of railroads
may lasvfully take, is unquestionable.
The statutes of the several states afford
numberless instances of legislative limita-
tion of the tolls of ferry, bridge, plank-road,
and turnpike companies. The ordinances
of the larger cities of this country limit the
charges of hack, omnibus and dray lines.
The statutes of our own state not only pro-
vide for the condemnation of private prop-
erty for the sites of grist-mills but also limit
the amount of tolls to be taken for grinding
at these mills. In some of the states the
charges of innkeepers and the fees of pro-
fessional men, and in nearly all the states
the rates of interest which money-lenders
and bank corporations may lawfully take,
are regulated and limited by legislative en-
actment. The power to make these laws,
and a multitude of others of like character,
rests on the right and duty of the legislature
to protect the people by statutory regula-
tions against imposition and extortions.
Upon authority and principle it may be
safely asserted that, in the absence of charter
contracts to the contrary, the legislature
may from time to time regulate and limit
the tolls which railroad companies may law-
fully take, in the same manner as the legis-
lature may limit the tolls to be taken by
ferry, bridge, plank-road and turnpike com-
panies; in the same manner as municipal
authorities may regulate and limit the
charges of hack, omnibus and dray lines;
in the same manner as the tolls at gristmills,
the charges of innkeepers, the fees of pro-
fessional men, and interest on loaned money
may be regulated and limited. These are
governmental powers; and by the term
"governmental" I here mean not judicial
but legislative powers. To declare what
the law is, or has been, is a judicial power;
to declare what the law shall be, is legisla-
tive. The law is applied by the judicial
department and made by the legislative.
It is both the right and the duty of the leg-
islature not to await the action of the judi-
ciary, where the common law has furnished
no adequate remedies for existing evils, but
to take the initiative and place limitations
upon tolls and charges, and fees and interest,
whenever such limitations are essential to
the public good; provided, always, that the
legislature has not bartered away, absolutely
beyond recall, to extortioners, the govern-
mental powers whereby it might otherwise
protect the people against their impositions.
And this brings us directly to the question,
whether or not the governmental powers
entrusted to the legislature, to be exercised
for the public good, as occasion may require,
are the subject matter of contract, of mere
bargain and sale.
The following provision was incorpor-
ated in the constitution of 18 18, and re-
tained in that of 1848:
The powers of the government of the
state of Illinois shall be divided into three
distinct departments, and each of them be
confined to a separate body of magistracy,
to-wit: Those which are legislative to one;
those which are executive to another; and
and those which are judicial to another. —
Constitution of 1848, Article 2, Section i.
I maintain that under this constitutional
provision, which has been in force ever
30
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
since this state was organized, the legisla-
ture has had no power as a party to make a
contract, the effect of which would be to
control or embarrass its governmental
powers and duties. To hold otherwise is
to affirm that the legislature may abdicate
the authority and relieve itself of the re-
sponsibility conferred and imposed upon
this department of the government by the
sovereign people of the state.
"The people of the state of Illinois,
grateful to Almighty God for civil, political
and religious liberty confided" — that is the
word — confided to the general assemply
those powers of the government of the
state, which are legislative — for what pur-
pose.'' " In order to promote the general
welfare and secure the blessings of liberty
to themselves and their posterity." At the
same time they declared in the bill of
rights that " all power is inherent in the peo-
ple, and all free governments are founded
on their authority and instituted for their
peace, safety and happiness." The legisla-
ture of a state is in no just sense the sover-
eign of the state, for sovereignty is the
parent, not the offspring of government.
The sovereignty belongs to the people of
the state in their original character as
an independentccommunity. All political
power is inherent — remains in the people.
In the language of Chief Justice Taney:
"The powers of sovereignty confided
to the legislative body of a state are un-
doubtedly a trust committed to them, to be
executed to the best of their judgment for
the public good; and no legislature can, by
its own act, disarm their successors of any
of the powers or rights of sovereignty con-
fided by the people to the legislative body
unless they are authorized to do so by the
constitution under which they are elected.
* * * And in every controversy on this
subject, the question must depend upon the
constituiion of the state and extent of
power thereby conferred in the legislative
body." — Ohio Life Insurance and Trust
Compa7iy v. Debolt, i6 Howard, 431.
The power to regulate the reciprocal
rights and duties of common carriers and
private citizens who may desire to travel
upon highways constructed for the public
use is, as we have seen, a governmental
power — one of the attributes of sovereignty
confided to the legislature to be exercised
for the public good. And where is the
provision of our state constitution which
authorizes one legislature to disarm a suc-
ceeding legislature of this power, the proper
exercise of which we have been taught by
sad experience is so essential to the travel-
ing public'
In another case Justice Woodbury says:
"One of the highest attributes and
duties of a legislature is to regulate public
matters with all public bodies, no less than
the community, from time to time, in the
manner which the public welfare may ap-
pear to demand. It can neither devolve
these duties permanently on other public
bodies, not permanently suspend or aban-
don them itself, without being usually re-
garded as unfaithful, and indeed, attempt-
ing what is wholly beyond its constitutional
competency." — East Hartford \. Hartford
Bridge Company, lo Howard, 534.
Now, whether railroad corporations are
to be regarded as quasi-public bodies, or as
private bodies, forming a portion of the
community, I maintain that the regulation
of rates of toll for the conveyance of per-
sons and property upon railroads — the pub-
lic highways — as the public welfare may de-
mand, is a legislative duty, the permanent
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
31
suspension or abandonment of which is
wholly beyond the constitutional compe-
tency of the legislature. Moreover, a grant
by a public agent bound in the most solemn
manner not to throw away the governmental
interest confided to it, is different from a
grant by an individual who is master of the
subject. The corporation which accepts
from the legislature e.xemption from gov-
ernmental control, knowing that it is deal-
ing with an agent bound by duty not to im-
pair a public right, does so at its peril.
Nay, more; the corporation which accepts
from the legislature a grant of any essential
attribute of sovereignty, would be treated
both in morals and in law as a party to a
fraud upon the inherent rights of the people.
The same constitutional provision con-
fides legislative powers to one body, execu-
tive powers to another, and judicial powers
to another. If legislative powers may be
disposed of by contract, why may not execu-
tive and judicial powers be sold.-" We all
recognize the principle that executive and
judicial powers are entrusted to the gov-
ernor and the judges to be exercised by
them while in office, and then turned over-
unimpaired to their successors. I believe
that the day is not far distant when the
courts of this country will settle down on
the firm fundamental principle that no de-
partment of the government, be it legisla-
tive, executive, or judicial, can abandon,
diminish or bargain away, for any consider-
ation, or upon any pretense whatever, the
governmental powers entrusted to it by the
sovereign people, to be exercised for the
promotion of the general welfare.
When the people in this state, in 18 18,
and again in 1848, confided to the general
assembly the legislative power of this state,
was it contemplated that the agents en-
trusted with these governmental powers
would sell any portion of them to other or-
ganizations, or parcel them out by contract
to private corporations.' It is a well-settled
principle that where a trust is confided to any
class of persons, the trustees cannot transfer
that trust to others. "What trust, what
confidence is more sacred, more responsible,
than the power to make the laws of a free
people? The power is not only delegated
to the two branches of the legislature, but
there is an obligation — a duty imposed upon
them to make all such laws as are necessary
and proper for the interests of the people,
and good order of the body politic."
The language of our State constitution,
reason, and sound policy, all concur in
bringing us to the conclusion that the law-
making power being entrusted to the legis-
lature by the constitution, to be exercised
as occasion may require, for the promotion
of the general welfare, cannot be perma-
nently transferred to any other body. If
the courts will fall back upon this principle,
we need not feel alarmed at the growth and
power of corporations. They are danger-
ous to the people only as they are allowed,
under the pretense of a bargain, to appro-
priate to their own purposes the govern-
mental powers confided to the legislature.
" The great object of any incorpor-
ation," says Chief Justice Marshall, "is to
bestow the character and properties of in-
dividuality on a collective and changing
body of men." — Providence v. Billings, 4
Peters, 562.
The creation of private corporations —
the bestowal of the attributes of individuality
upon these ideal creatures — placing them,
as to legal rights, on the same footing with
natural persons — are proper subjects of leg-
islative action. And we readily concede
32
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
that these ideal creatures — private corpor-
ations— cannot be arbitrarily destroyed by
the legislature, and that the rights which
they may possess by virtue of their individ-
uality or existence are protected by the
same constitution, which is the Magna
Charta of the whole people. But in the
language of Justice Daniel:
" The opinion seems to have obtained
that the right of property in a chartered
corporation was more sacred and intangible
than the same right could possibly be in the
person of a citizen; an opinion which must
be without any grounds to rest upon until
it can be demonstrated that the ideal crea-
ture is more than a person, or the corporeal
being is less." IVesf River Bridge Com-
pany V. Dix\ 6 Howard, 533.
The legislature may irrevocably dispose
of the lands and public buildings and other
property of the state. These are the
proper subjects of contract and sale. But
a legislative contract to surrender forever to
a private corporation any portion of the
governmental powers of this State is, in my
opinion, unconstitutional and void. It is
unconstitutional, because the constitutional
provision, which has been in force here ever
since we had a state organization, confides
— intrusts — these powers to the legislature
to be exercised for the promotion of the
general welfare, not to be bartered away.
It is void, because it is a contract in vio-
lation of public duty, and without a com-
petent subject matter. The legislature
cannot deal — cannot traffic — with a sover-
eign right as private property. Says Justice
Daniel:
"Inevercan believe in that, to my mind,
suicidal, doctrine, which confers upon one
legislature, the creatures and limited agents
of the sovereign people, the power, by a
breach of duty and transcending the com-
mission with which they are clothed, to bind
forever and irrevocably their creator, for
whose benefit and by whose authority alone
they are delegated to act, to consequences
however mischievous or destructive. " — Oliio
Life Insurance and Trust Company v. De-
bolt, 16 Howard, 443.
And, right here let me ask. From what
one source have the people of this state
suffered more mischievous consequences
than from the free exercise of the assumed
right, on the part of the legislature, to sell
out to railroad corporations the power of
fixing and exacting from the community
rates of toll without limitations .' In resist-
ing the usurpations of these wealthy and
powerful corporations, we have turned our
attention too much to that clause of the
constitution of the United States which
provides that no state shall pass any law
impairing the obligation of contracts, and
have not paid sufficient attention to that
section of our state constitution which con-
fides, and only confides, the legislative
power of the government to the general
assembly, and to that section of the bill of
rights which declares that "all power is
inherent in the people." We must not for-
get that a legislative act or charter may
contain unconstitutional provisions. The
real question is not one of vested rights
under a contract, but one of constitutional
power to make the contract. The legisla-
ture cannot change the constitution, or
make a new constitution, and yet it would
be doing just this if it could limit the gov-
ernmental powers of a future legislature.
And, therefore, I maintain that corporations
are subject to governmental powers the
same as individuals — that the charges of
railway corporations can be regulated and
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
33
limited by legislative enactment, the same
as the tolls of ferry, bridge, plank-road
and turnpike companies; the same as the
charges of hack, omnibus and dray lines;
the same as the tolls of millers, the charges
of innkeepers, the fees of professional men
and interest on loaned money. The powers
to make these regulations and limitations
are, unquestionably, legislative, govern-
mental powers, and neither these nor any
other legislative powers of a governmental
nature can be irrevocably disposed of by
contract to any individual or corporation.
There are and can be no vested rights of
governmental power in any individual or
corporation except those conferred by the
constitution.
Will any gentleman take the position
that the legislature can endow an individual
or corporation with the vested right to com-
mit a crime, or perpetrate fraud, or prac-
tice imposition upon the public? I think
not. One legislature cannot, by contract
or otherwise, prohibit succeeding legisla-
tures from enacting laws for the prevention
and punishment of crime, fraud and imposi-
tion. But railroad corporations declare
that they have bought from the legislature
the power to establish and exact the exor-
bitant charges they are now every day ex-
torting from the people. Under the claim
of vested rights they bid defiance to — I
was about to say — the government; but
according to the conceit of these corpora-
tions, there is no government that can con-
trol and regulate and limit their demands.
Each claims to be, in this respect, a gov-
ernment unto itself — a sovereignty within
a sovereignty.
The people sooner or later will break
away from the theory that a railroad, or
any private corporation, can have a vested
right in any governmental power. Let the
next legislature enact substantially the rail-
way laws of England, regulating and limit-
ing the rates of freight and passenger tariffs,
and I firmly believe that the courts would
hold that such a re-assertion of govern-
mental control over railroad rates is not an
interference with vested rights.
The time was when city or other munic-
ipal corporations claimed that, by virtue
of their charters, they held vested rights in
governmental powers. Even now the leg-
islature cannot confiscate the private prop-
erty of a municipal corporation, or change
the uses of its private funds acquired under
the public faith. But the courts have long
since held that the legislature cannot trans-
fer to a municipal corporation irrevocable,
vested rights in governmental powers. And,
for one, I am ready to take the broad posi-
tion that it is not, and never has been, in
the power of the legislature of this state to
bind its governmental capacities, by any
arrangements or stipulations, with either
public or private corporations, so as to dis-
able itself from enacting laws that may be
deemed essential for the public good. The
sovereign people, and the sovereign people
alone, by the adoption of constitutional
provisions, can restrict and bind the gov-
ernmental capacities of the legislature.
After Judge Benjamin ceased speaking
it was apparent that his argument pleased
the majority of his colleagues, several of
whom rose to their feet and sanctioned
what he said in no uncertain terms. The
following endorsements are copied from the
reports:
(Mr. Ross) — Mr. Chairman: I cheer-
fully subscribe to the views of the gentle-
man from McLean (Mr. Benjamin). I think
that the convention and the people of the
34
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
state owe him a debt of gratitude. It has
the true ring of the doctrine that should be
inculcated by all our statesmen.
(Mr. Bromwell) — Mr. Chairman: lam
very much gratified to see the manner in
which this discussion starts in this conven-
tion. There have been doubts expressed
whether this convention, upon coming to
this subject, would take the proper stand to
secure the rights of the people which have
been so long trifled with and trampled
under foot by the interpretation of the law
in this state; and I agree with the gentle-
man from Fulton (Mr. Ross) that the com-
munity at large owes the gentleman from
McLean (Mr. Benjamin) thanks for the
masterly manner in which he has demon-
strated the right and the power of the
people, inhering in, ever living, and ever
present, to command in the name of and
for the people, the creatures which they
have put on foot, the corporations which
they have organized, in respect to the terms
upon which they shall enjoy those invalu-
able franchises which they are lawfully per-
mitted to enjoy.
HON. RICHARD EDWARDS, A. M.,
LL. D. We are now permitted to
touch briefly upon the life history of one
who has been prominently identified with
the educational affairs of Illinois for over
thirty-five years, and it is but just and mer-
ited praise to say that as an educator he
ranks among the best in the state, and has
probably done as much as any other man
to raise the standard of schools in this
great commonwealth. He has been in-
structor and director in academies and col-
leges, and as state superintendent re-organ-
ized and developed the entire school sys-
tem. Although seventy-seven years of age,
he still takes an active part in educational
affairs, being at the present time connected
with the Wesleyan University at Bloom-
ington.
Dr. Edwards is a native of Wales, born
near Aberystwith, Cardiganshire, December
23, 1822. His father, Richard Edwards,
Sr. , was born in the same place, in 1799,
and was there married in 1821, to Miss Ann
Jones, who was born in 1801, a daughter
of William and Margaret Jones, farming
people of the parish of Lledrod, Wales.
The Doctor's paternal grandfather was
Hugh Richard, a stone mason by trade.
The father was also a brick and stone ma-
son in his native land. In 1833, he and
his family sailed for the new world and
first located in Portage county, Ohio, but
in 1849 located near Oshkosh, Wisconsin,
where he purchased a farm and to its im-
provement and cultivation he devoted his
energies until called from this life, in 1852.
He left six children. The mother died in
1876.
Like other members of the family, Dr.
Edwards spoke nothing but Welsh on coming
to this country, and as his early life here
was devoted to the arduous task of clearing
and cultivating wild land, he had little op-
portunity of attending even the primitive
district schools of those early days in the
west. Until attaining manhood he contin-
ued to assist his father, with the exception
of a few weeks each winter when pursuing
his studies in the local schools, but by se-
vere exertion he obtained two terms' in-
struction in the village school before he was
twenty-two, and he also learned the carpen-
ter's trade. He devoted his spare moments
to reading, of which he was fond, and with
the hope of fitting himself for some profes-
HON. RICHARD EDWARDS.
THE NEW WbK
PUBLIC UBMRT
ASTOft^iENOX
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
37
sion he went to Bridgewater, Massachusetts,
in 1844, and entered the State Normal at
that place. Having no means, he lived with
extreme self-denial, teaching at intervals to
get money for his support while studying.
In this way he completed the course in that
institute and also paid his way through
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy,
New York, where he graduated with honors.
During the time spent at Bridgewater, he
had attracted the attention of New England
educators, and when through school at Troy
his services were in demand as a teacher.
He first taught in the Bridgewater State
Normal and then became principal of the.
State Normal at Salem, Massachusetts, then
accepted a call to the principalship of the
St. Louis (Missouri) Normal School. Later
he was principal of the St. Louis high
school, and in 1862 he was given charge of
the State Normal, at Normal, Illinois, where
he remained for thirteen years and a half,
during which time the attendance was in-
creased from two hundred and eighty to
seven hundred and seventy-seven, and the
fame of the institute as one of model con-
trol, economical management and beneficial
results became wide spread. In addition to
having direct charge of the Normal School,
Dr. Edwards took an active interest in the
schools throughout the state and his services
as an organizer were always in request. He
labored incessantly to build up the grand
system of schools which is now such a
source of just pride to the people of Illi-
nois, and in this work he was ably sustained
by the board of education with a unanimity
which was surprising, considering the height
to which political prejudices at times arose.
When Dr. Edwards announced his intention
of resigning the management of the Normal
School, January i, 1876, a strong protest
arose from both Democrats and Repub-
licans, but to no avail, and with the resolu-
tion accepting his resignation it was put on
record that the board endorsed his wise
management and control of the school and
gave him credit for making it the "best
normal school on the continent."
On the 3d of July, 1849, Dr. Edwards
was united in marriage with Miss Betsey J.
Samson, a native of Pembroke, Massachu-
setts, and a lady of culture and refinement,
who is also a graduate of the Bridgewater
Normal and was for some time a successful
teacher. The children born of this union
are as follows: Annie E., wife of Newton
CJ Dougherty, superintendent of schools in
Peoiria; Richard A., cashier of First National
Bank, of Peru, Indiana; Ellen S., was for
some, years a teacher in Colorado College,
Colorado; Mary C, wife of Dr. D. C. Ty-
ler, of Clifton, Kansas; Rev. Nicholas T.,
now pastor of the First Congregational
church of Escondido, California; George
H., a member and manager of the Edwards
& Sloan Jewelry Company, of Kansas City,
Missouri; Walter A., president of the
Throop Polytechnic Institute, of Pasadena,
California; Owen M., a teacher in the high
school of Sandwich, Illinois, and a graduate
of the Wesleyan University; and Florence
M., who is at home and for some time was a
teacher in Normal.
At Normal, December 23, 1873, Dr.
Edwards was ordained a minister of the
Congregational church by the Central Illi-
nois Congregational Association, and on re-
signing the presidency of the Normal School
he accepted the pastorate of the Congrega-
tional church at Princeton, Illinois, where he
remained from 1876 until 1885, his success
in the pulpit being fully as great as that in
the school room. He maintained his rela-
38
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tion with the Congregational church until
going to Carlinville, when he united with the
Presbyterian church and joined the Alton
Presbytery. His wife and family now hold
membership in the Second Presbyterian
church of Bloomington, while he is a mem-
ber of the Bloomington Presbytery. He
had joined the Second Presbyterian church
of Bloomington, in 1863, but for the sake
of establishing a church at Normal, where
no church at that time e.xisted, he united
with the Congregationalists and was one of
the founders of the Congregational church at
that place. The only secret society with
which he has ever been connected was the
Union League at St. Louis during the war,
at which time Judge Drake, of Washington,
was also one of its members.
While pastor of the Congregational
church at Princeton, Dr. Edwards' con-
nection with educational work was almost
uninterrupted, but he was not identified
with any particular school or college except
for eighteen months when acting as finan-
cial agent for Knox College, Galesburg,
Illinois. He was, however, constantly ad-
dressing teachers' institutes, giving advice to
school boards and counseling young instruct-
ors and students. In 1886 he was elected
on the Republican ticket as superintendent
of public instruction for the state, and dur-
ing his four years in office the school law was
revised and codified under his personal di-
rection; a syllabus of work for teachers' in-
stitutes was prepared and a course of study
for country schools mapped out, a com-
mittee of county superintendents assisting
in the task. The energetic manner in which
the office was administered convinced the
legislature that the state superintendent of
schools was an important member of the
government, and a law was passed enlarg-
ing his duties and powers, and by the same
act he was made a member of the board of
trustees for the State University at Cham-
paign and the State Normal at Carbondale,
which did much to bring both institutions
to a high state of perfection. In 1890, Dr.
Edwards was renominated, but the Republic-
ans being unsuccessful that year, he was de-
feated.
On the expiration of his term in 1891,
he was elected to the presidency of Black-
burn University at Carlinville, Illinois, and
did a grand work in building up that insti-
tution. He had a very able corps of assist-
ants, the attendance was largely increased,
and he left the school in a very promising
condition. His work there was too much
for him, and he broke down, being obliged
to resign in 1893. He came to Blooming-
ton, in April of that year, but was present
at the closing exercises of the class of 1893.
For some time he practically lived retired,
though he lectured in different parts of the
state at educational meetings and also
preached occasionally as the occasion re-
quired, having filled most of the pulpits in
the towns of Normal, Lexington and neigh-
boring places. In 1897, he was offered
and accepted the chair of psychology and
ethics in the Illinois Wesleyan University.
He is now giving a series of lectures in that
institution on pedagogy, or the science of
teaching, and is particularly well adapted
to that class of work, having made it a
study for many years. Dr. Edwards' attain-
ments as a scholar and his remarkable suc-
cess as an instructor have been recognized
by the bestowal of the degree of Master of
Arts by Harvard University, and of Doctor
of Laws by Shurtliff College, also that of D.
D. from Blackburn University of Carlinville.
He is an active and prominent member of
THE Nl./ H- K
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
■nUJ^N FOUNDATIONS
NIMROD KERRICK.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
41
Alumni Club, and recently prepared an able
paper on the Congestion of Population in
Cities, a subject that required a thorough
examination of facts. In many ways he is
a remarkable man, strong and convincing
as a public speaker and familiar with every
detail of the public school problem, and is
quick of thought and resolute of action.
He has met with unbounded success where
a man of less ability would have failed, and
to-day ranks high among the ablest educa-
tors of the state.
REVEREND NIMROD KERRICK was
born October 16, 1808, in Loudon
county, Virginia. He was the first born of
Thomas and Phoebe Kerrick. He died in
Bloomington, Illinois, December 13. 1897,
having completed two months of his ninetieth
year. His death resulted from injuries re-
ceived three months before by falling upon
the brick pavement, as he was walking from
his own to the house of one of his sons,
near by. Up to the day of this accident he
was in good health, having comfortable use
of all of his faculties. Free from bodily
pains, clear and vigorous in mind, he en-
joyed the society of his family and friends
and books through all his declining years.
Mr. Kerrick's boyhood was spent on a
Virginia farm. Until he was sixteen years
old he had attended school but a few months,
all told. From eleven to sixteen he had but
three weeks of schooling; this was a source
of regret to him all his life. He had a strong
natural thirst for knowledge from early
youth. Having learned to read well while
a small boy, he read again and again such
few books as were within his reach; some of
these he read so often that he knew them
almost as well as if he had himself written
them. Probably few men have lived who
knew the Bible as well as Mr. Kerrick; he
could repeat from memory, with astonishing
accuracy, a large part of it.
Mr. Kerrick's most remarkable memory
and his long life together made him a real
connecting link between the earlier and
modern times of our country. He well re-
membered General LaFayette's visit to the
United States in 1824. The general was in
Leesburg, not more than ten or twelve miles
away, but young Nimrod could do just as
good a day's work on the farm that day, and
he was left to do it while the older ones
went to greet the hero.
In the fall of 1824 Mr. Kerrick moved
with his parents to Muskingum county,
Ohio, traveling overland in a wagon. He
often spoke of meeting on this trip with
General Jackson, near Wheeling, Virginia,
who was going to Washington to make
his contest in the House of Representa-
tives tor the presidency, the election hav-
ing been indecisive. Mr. Kerrick cculd
describe minutely the general's dress, his
carriage, the number of his horses and at-
tendants, the exact order of travel, etc.
Hearing him relate the circumstances of
this meeting one could almost see the great
Tennesseean and his outfit. ("My mother
was a comely woman, still young, and the
general bowed graciously to her as he
passed.") The Kerricks were not for Jack-
son for president, but that "gracious bow"
to the "comely mother" palliated Jackson
politics to a sensible degree; one could
still see it after seventy years, as Mr. Ker-
rick related the incident.
The family remained in Ohio but two
years, then pushed on to southeastern Indi-
ana, which region became their perma-
nent home. The first settlement was made
in Franklin county, but later, lands were
42
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
taken and a final settlement made in De-
catur county.
At about twenty years of age Mr. Ker-
rick had the only severe, or dangerous sick-
ness of his long life; recovering from this,
but not yet strong, he took a school to
teach, and thus accidentally discovered his
talent which was for teaching. About this
time he met Thomas O'Brien, a noted Irish
school master, who had received a liberal
education in the old world. Mr. Kerrick
became O'Brien's pupil and later his assist-
ant; the two became fast friends and in-
separable companions. The meeting with
Thomas O'Brien was most fortunate for
Mr. Kerrick. It is difficult to conceive
how his great desire for learning and edu-
cation could have been gratified in that
time but for this meeting. O'Brien pa-
tiently and faithfully imparted while the
younger man eagerly absorbed the culture
and learning that the former had acquired
under more favorable conditions in Europe.
For twenty years Mr. Kerrick was a
school master; he was eminently successful.
Near Blooming Grove, Franklin county, en-
terprising farmers and villagers built a sub-
stantial brick house for his school, and here
he taught ten consecutive years. He was
able to carry his pupils far beyond the
schools of his time and region. In mathe-
matics he took pupils as far as trigonome-
try and surveying, and many of them be-
came practical surveyors. His name be-
came, and is to-day, a household word in all
that region. It is probably not outside the
truth to say that the character of no man,
high or low, was so deeply impressed upon
the people of the White Water Valley as
the character of Nimrod Kerrick. Many of
the men and women of that rapidly growing
population received all the schooling they
ever had from Mr. Kerrick, and many more
received the larger part of their schooling
from him. His unusual attainments and his
pronounced instincts for teaching afforded
the young people of the country opportuni-
ties that were not common in that time.
Among Mr. Kerrick's other attainments he
wrote a beautiful, plain, uniform "hand."
The writer of this sketch has received let-
lers written within two or three years past,
by a man who was a pupil of Mr. Kerrick
in that brick school house, and it would re-
quire an expert to tell that writing now from
Mr. Kerrick's. This incident is mentioned
to illustrate the powerful influence of a true
teacher and how that influence is perpetu-
ated.
Happily for the great company of young
men and young women who came under his
influence as a teacher, Mr. Kerrick's influ-
ence was always for good. He was a man
of singularly pure character. Through all
his long journey of life he walked uprightly,
worked righteousness, and spoke the truth
in his heart.
Although born in a slave state, Mr. Ker-
rick cherished from boyhood a hearty dis-
like for that slavery. He was a Republican
in politics — a total abstainer from every
kind of strong drink. He was of medium
height and weight — in physical form a
model, muscular, agile, possessing wonder-
ful physical endurance. He was a pro-
foundly grateful man for the blessings of life
— satisfied and thankful always for simple
food and plain clothing, but the best of any-
thing was never too good, in his estimation,
for his family.
All men, high and low, rich and poor,
were men and brethren to him; he had
equal good will for all of them; he respected
men as men, not according to class or con-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
43
dition. He was strangely oblivious to dis-
tinctions among men; he had but one pur-
pose toward them all, which was to do them
good, and he approached them all, whether
of high or of low degree, in the same re-
spectful and interested spirit.
Mr. Kerrick was a member and a minis-
ter of the Methodist Episcopal church. He
was first licensed to preach in 1848. In
1858 he entered the southeastern Indiana
conference. His first circuit had nineteen
appointments; he met and preached at all
of these at least once a month. His last
appointment was Liberty, Union county.
At the close of his ministry there, he moved
to Woodford county, Illinois, and there-
after his occupation was farming, the same
to which he was used when a boy. This
move and change of occupation was made
in the interest, wholly, of his family. With-
out doubt his own inclination would have
led him to continue in professional life; but
he had now three good-sized boys, and for
them he wisely judged that the farm would
offer better opportunities than the town for
a right start in life. No preference or wish
of his own could stand for a moment against
what he considered to be for the interest of
his family.
While on the farm, Mr. Kerrick still con-
tinued to preach often. He was sought for
to supply vacancies occasioned by sickness
or absence of regular pastors. He was a
Methodist, but not a sectarian. He fre-
quently preached for other denominations,
and always heartily enjoyed attending the
preaching services of any Christian denom-
ination. He preached many funerals, es-
pecially of soldiers of the war for the Union.
By younger ministers he was greatly revered
and beloved, and he was often able to help
them, which gave him the highest pleasure.
Mr. Kerrick was married May 4, 1839,
at Fairfield, Franklin county, Indiana, to
Miss Mary Masters. Miss Masters was a
native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
but removed when a young woman with
her parents to Indiana. Five children were
born to the pair, two daughters and three
sons; the eldest daughter, and the eldest of
the family, Mrs. Cyrus Mull, resides in
Manilla, Rush county, Indiana. The sec-
ond daughter, Mrs. W. H. Bracken, resides
in Brookville, Franklin county. The old-
est son, William M., was killed in battle,
he fell in the desperate charge of the Union
forces upon the Confederate works at Vicks-
burg, May 22, 1863. He was barely nine-
teen years old when he was killed. The
second son, Leonidas H., and the young-
est, Thomas C. , reside in Bloomington,
Illinois. Mr. Kerrick's last years were spent
in Bloomington. Mrs. Kerrick survives,
and still maintains the home in which Mr.
Kerrick died. At the advanced age of
eighty-three years, she possesses remarkable
health and strength. Her well-known and
exceptionally strong mental characteristics
remain to her unimpaired.
We have given herein a brief and very
imperfect account of a remarkable life; a
life, it is true, not distinguished by deeds
which startle or which bring renown; but a
long, faithful, unselfish life, full of labors
for the enlightenment and uplifting of man-
kind; a life that touched many other lives,
and always to do them good — -never to do
them harm.
HON. CHRISTIAN F. KOCH. There
is no element which has entered into
our composite national fabric which has
been of more practical strength, value and
utility than that furnished by the sturdy.
44
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
persevering and honorable sons of Germany,
and in the progress of our union this ele-
ment has played an important part. In-
tensely practical, and ever having a clear
comprehension of the ethics of life, the
German contingent has wielded a powerful
influence, and this service cannot be held in
light estimation by those who appreciate
true civilization and true advancement.
Among Bloomington's most popular citi-
zens is Mr. Koch, its present mayor, who
was born in Eslingen, Wurtemburg, Ger-
many, March 17, 1849, and when a child
of three years was brought to this country
by his parents, John F. and Caroline T.
(Deininger) Koch, also natives of the Fa-
therland. His maternal grandfather, Johan
Fredric Deininger, was of old French Hu-
guenot stock, his ancestors having been
driven from France by the edict of Nantes
and taking refuge in Wurtemburg. The
Deininger family can be traced back to
1600. John Koch, father of our subject,
belonged to a family of very extensive mill
owners, and he himself was a millwright by
trade, being one of the first in Biooming-
ton. On coming to the new world the
family first located in Cincinnati, Ohio, but
five years later took up their residence in
Bloomington when its population was not
over two thousand. For a number of years
the father was foreman in the old marble
furniture factory in this city, and here he
died in 1876. The mother is still living
and makes her home in Bloomington. Both
were faithful members of the German
Methodist Episcopal church.
Christian F. Koch began his education
in the public schools, and for two years was
a student in the Wesleyan University of
Bloomington. Having learned the mill-
wright's trade, he worked with his father
for four or five years and then embarked in
the grocery business on West Front street,
where he still carries on operations with
marked success. In 1892 he assisted in or-
ganizing the German National Loan As-
sociation, of which he has been president
from the start, and is also a director of the
Equitable Loan Association, now the lead-
ing association of the kind in this part of
the country. He is also connected as presi-
dent with an insurance order, known as the
Pioneer Reserve Association, which now
has a membership of one thousand, large-
ly Bloomington people, but subordinate
branches have been started at Peoria, Lin-
coln, Pontiac, Normal and other places,
and so rapidly is it growing that its mem-
bership will undoubtedly number between
two and three thousand before the close of
the year.
Mr. Koch married Miss Katie L. Feisel, a
daughter of Rev. Jacob Feisel, a prominent
pioneer Methodist Episcopal minister of
this state, who had charge of a German con-
gregation in Bloomington at an early day,
and was a presiding elder for a number of
years. He died about three years ago in
Quincy. To Mr. and Mrs. Koch were born
two daughters: Lulu C, now the wife of
H. W. Peters, of St. Louis, Missouri; and
Emma K., who died in June, 1896.
Since attaining his majority, Mr. Koch
has been prominently identified with the
Republican party, and served as alderman
from the third ward from 1883 until 1887.
In the spring of 1890, he was urged to ac-
cept the nomination for mayor on the Re-
publican ticket, and though he made no
particular effort, he was elected by a hand-
some majority over a prominent man in
the Democratic field. Never were the reins
of city government in more capable hands,
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
45
and one noteworthy feature of his adminis-
tration was the final settlement with the Jen-
ney Electric Light Company, which had es-
tablished a plant here and taken advantage
of the people in various ways. It was nec-
essary to annul the contract with them,
and it finally resulted in a settlement under
which the city came into absolute possession
of a plant at a cost of nineteen thousand
dollars less than the original contract price.
He was not re-elected at the succeeding
election as it was his intention to withdraw
from politics. In the spring of 1897 a re-
organization of the city under the general
law was strongly agitated by business men
and citizens in general as there had been
some dissatisfaction with the special charter
and the preceding administration. There
seemed to be a general disposition on the
part of the people to turn over a new leaf
to the extent of getting under the general
law and a broader government, better
adapted to the advanced needs and wants
of the city, and a general change in the
council and administration of the city.
This resulted in Mr. Koch being again
strongly urged to enter the field as the Re-
publican nominee for mayor. His nomina-
tion was uncontested and he was triumph-
antly elected. He has since worked under
the new form of government, and during
this administration many improvements
have been made in the city, including the
erection of a new city hall. It is one of the
best paved cities of its size in the country,
having now about twenty-four miles of
paved streets and having expended for pav-
ing twenty-five thousand dollars, the proper-
ty owners fifty thousand, making a total of
seventy-five thousand dollars, during the
two years of Mr. Koch's incumbencey of
the office.
Mr. Koch and his family hold member-
ship in the German Methodist church, of
which he is a trustee and treasurer, and in
which he has also served as superintendent
of the Sunday school. Socially, he is quite
prominent; is a member of Mozart Lodge,
F. & A. M; and is past chancellor of Blucher
Lodge, K. P., of which he is one of the found
ers, having been a member of the mother lodge
— Damon, No. 10. He is president of the
Bloomington Colliseum Association, which
has erected a building at a cost of about
twenty thousand dollars. He is emphatic-
ally a man of enterprise, positive character,
indomitable energy, strict integrity and lib-
eral views, and is thoroughly indentified
with the growth and prosperity of his adopt-
ed city and state.
JOHN MATHER FOSTER is one of the
most prosperous farmers and influential
citizens of Dale township, McLean county,
Illinois. His career has been most remark-
able, yet his success is by no means the
result of fortunate circumstances, for it has
come to him through energy, labor and per-
severance, directed by an evenly balanced
mind and by honorable business principles.
He is a man of keen discrimination and
sound judgment, and in business affairs is
energetic, prompt and notably reliable.
Mr. Foster was born in Meigs township.
Muskingum county, Ohio, May 30, 1833, a
son of John and Celia Ann (Ballou) Foster,
natives of New Hampshire and Ohio respect-
ively. The paternal grandfather, John
Mathers Foster, Sr., a descendant of In-
crease Mather, of colonial fame, was edu-
cated for the ministry, but preferring the
legal profession, he afterward read law.
From New Hampshire he removed to Mas-
46
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
sachusetts, and when the father of our sub-
ject was eleven years old went to Ohio,
where he engaged in the practice of his
chosen profession and also taught school.
He died in that state. He married Mrs.
Alice (West) Carlyle, who was the grand-
mother of our subject. He had one brother,
William S. Foster, who served as a colonel
in the Revolutionary war.
John Foster, father of our subject, came
from New Hampshire to Indiana at the
age of eleven years, remaining until the age
of seventeen, when, finding that the man
he was working for was not reliable finan-
cially, he left without any money and
walked back to his old home in Ohio, in
company with his uncle, William Stevens,
sleeping out many nights on the way, or in
barns whenever he could get permission.
On reaching home he began work for his
uncle. Col. William Foster, and with the
money thus earned paid off an indebtedness
of three dollars and seventeen cents. He
then had ten dollars in silver remaining,
and with this he began life for himself. At
first he worked at any employment which
he could find, and finally saved enough
money with which to purchase a small
tract of land at one dollar and a quarter
per acre. This he cleared and improved
himself, and after building a little home
thereon, he married Miss Celia Ann Ballou,
a daughter of Welcome Ballou, a repre-
sentative of a prominent pioneer family of
Ohio from Rhode Island. Her mother,
who bore the maiden name of Arelia Taft,
was a native of Massachusetts. Mr. Fos-
ter brought his bride on horseback to the
home he had prepared for her, and as he
prospered in his farming operations he
added to his place from time to time until
he had a good sized farm, which he finally
sold to his only brother, Dan Foster, for
ten thousand dollars. Upon that place our
subject was born. The father went to New
York and invested seven thousand dollars
in a stock of goods, which he took to Cum-
berland, Ohio, opening up a store at that
place. Although this was his first experi-
ence in mercantile trade, he prospered in
his new undertaking and continued in busi-
ness there for several years. He had the
entire confidence and respect of his fellow
citizens and was called upon to fill many
township offices. On selling his store he
purchased a farm adjoining the town, and
there he continued to make his home until
coming west, though he retained the place
for some time afterward, it being finally
sold by our subject for thirty thousand one
hundred dollars. He was extensively in-
terested in sheep raising, and one year sold
ten thousand pounds of wool for over ten
thousand dollars. In Vermont he pur-
chased seventy-three of the Spanish merino
sheep, for which he paid seven thousand six
hundred dollars, which he took to his home,
where he already had from five hundred to
one thousand Pennsylvania merinos and
blacktops. He was the first in his com-
munity to import those animals; he crossed
the breeds and has sold many as high as
three hundred dollars a head. In 1866 Mr.
Foster came to McLean county, in com-
pany with his wife's parents and our sub-
ject, having the year previous purchased
the farm in Dale township now owned and
occupied by his son, who at that time was
given charge of the place, while he practically
lived retired for many years. He also pur-
chased nine hundred and forty-five acres
in Ford county, which afterward became
the property of our subject's sons, Charles,
John, Loren and Ivan. It is under a high
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
47
state of cultivation and pleasantly located
near Gibson City. The father had charge
of that farm until failing eyesight rendered
him almost blind. He always lived with
our subject, and here died May ii, 1898,
when almost ninety-two years of age, his
birth having occurred November 12, 1806.
He was a shrewd, capable business man,
and his advice was often sought by his
neighbors and friends, who held him in high
regard on account of his sterling worth and
many excellencies of character. Politically,
he was first a Whig and later a Repub-
lican. His estimable wife, who was born
June 27, 1812, is still living. Of the five
children born to them, three reached years
of maturity, but only our subject and Mrs.
Eliza McClellan, of Champaign county, Illi-
nois, are now living.
During his boyhood and youth, John M.
Foster, of this review, received a good prac-
tical education and for two years he success-
fully engaged in teaching school. When his
father retired from mercantile life and pur-
chased his farm near Cumberland our sub-
ject was given charge of the sheep, which
was a very responsible position. He dis-
charged his duties in a highly satisfactory
manner, however, and displayed excellent
business ability in the sale of both sheep
and wool. In his native state, Mr. Foster
married Miss Electa B. Moore, of Noble
county, Ohio, who died before he came
west, leaving one son, Charles M., a pros-
perous farmer of Ford county, Illinois, who
was four years old when brought by his fa-
ther to this state. Mr. Foster was again
married, April i, 1868, his second union
being with Miss Alice King, who was born
August 29, 1847, a daughter of William
and Ann King, of Bloomington township.
Four children blessed this union: John
3
Stanhope, born October 9, 1870, married
Ella Vaughan, and is now engaged in farm-
ing in Ford county; Loren K. , born March
25, 1875, married Myrta Moberly, by whom
he has one child, and now has charge of his
father's farm; Ivan V., born August 22,
1879, died January 14, 1897; and Alice Bal-
lon, born December 14, 1882, is at home.
After successfully managing his father's
farm for a few years, Mr. Foster was given
a small place, to which he has added from
time to time as his financial resources have
increased until he now has almost eight
hundred acres of valuable land in Bloom-
ington and Dale township, being one of its
heaviest tax payers. He generally raises
from five to twenty thousand bushels of
corn annually and now has sixty thousand
bushels upon the place, the crops of three
years. As a stock raiser he has also met
with excellent success, making a specialty
of hogs and shorthorn cattle. In his po-
litical views, Mr. Foster has always been a
stalwart Republican, and was a great ad-
mirer of President Garfield, of whom his
mother was a second cousin; he has never
cared for political preferment but for twen-
ty-five years has most creditably and ac-
ceptably served as school director in his
district. In the progress of his community
he has ever manifested a deep interest and
has ever taken his part in support of those
measures calculated to prove of public
benefit.
GEORGE B. KELSO, M. D. Canada has
furnished to the United States many
bright, enterprising young men who have
left the Dominion to enter the business and
professional circles of this country. Among
this number is Dr. Kelso, proprietor of the
48
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Bloomington Home Sanitarium and a lead-
ing physician of that city. He inherited
somewhat of the strong, rugged and per-
severing characteristics developed by his
earlier environment; which, coupled with the
livelier impulses of his Celtic blood, made
him at an early day seek wider fields in
which to give full scope to his ambition and
industry — his dominant qualities.
The Doctor was born in Bruce, Ontario,
Canada, June i6, iS6o, and is a son of
Thompson and Mary (Cameron) Kelso.
The father was born in the north of Ireland,
of Scotch ancestry, the family having fled
thither from their old home in Scotland on
account of persecution during Cromwell's
reign in England. When a young man, the
father crossed the Atlantic and took up his
residence near Ottawa, Canada. There he
married Mary Cameron, who was born in
Cornwall, Canada, and belonged to an old
Scotch family. Soon after their marriage
they removed to Bruce when that region
svas an almost unbroken wilderness, being
numbered among its pioneers. There the
father developed a farm, on which he and
his wife still reside. In early life they
united with the Episcopal church, but now
hold membership in the Presbyterian
church, with which he is officially con-
nected. Politically he is a Liberal, and
has taken quite an active and prominent
part in local politics, and has been called
upon to fill a number of official positions.
Dr. Kelso is the third in order of birth
in a family of ten children, and in the com-
mon and high schools of his native prov-
ince, he acquired a good practical educa-
tion, which well fitted him to engage in
teaching — a profession which he successfully
followed for three and a half years as
principal of the village school. In the
meantime he read medicine; and later pur-
sued a three, years course in the medical
department of the University of Michigan,
at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in
1886. He first opened an office at New-
berry, Upper Michigan, and during the
year and a half he spent at that place was
quite successful, there being a great deal of
surgical work to be done in the lumber
camps. He next engaged in practice for a
short time at Ishpemmg, Michigan, near
Marquette, but as the climate did not agree
with his health, he was forced to leave a
good practice and come further south.
In October, 1886, Dr. Kelso married
Dr. Anna E. Caldwell Clark, who had
graduated with him at Ann Arbor. She is
a native of Oxford, Maine, and prior to read-
ing medicine had received a good classical
and musical education in the east and
abroad. In the fall of 18S8 they came to
Bloomington, and at first engaged only in
general practice. Being among the first
lady physicians in the city, Mrs. Kelso was
soon at the head of a good practice, and
in 1894 they established the Bloomington
Home Sanitarium, which they have since so
successfully conducted. They started in a
small way, but as their patronage steadily
increased, they enlarged their facilities in
1897 by adding fifteen rooms to their build-
ing for surgical work, and also a fine oper-
ating room, with all necessary appliances.
They are now well prepared to treat all
kinds of surgical and medical cases, and
take both male and female patients. The
sanitarium is centrally located, and is the
only one in the city, and besides having a
fine home patronage, their patients come
from all parts of Illinois and surrounding
states.
Fraternally, both the Doctor and his
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
49
wife are members of the Central Illinois
Homeopathic Medical Society. He is a
close and thorough student, a man of deep
research, and his investigations into the
science of medicine and his skillful applica-
tion of the knowledge he has thereby ob-
tained has won him a place in the foremost
ranks of the medical fraternity. Among
the secret societies to which he belongs are
Bloomington Lodge, No. 44, F. & A. M. ;
Remembrance Lodge, I. O. O. F. , in which
he has passed all the chairs; and the Knights
of Pythias fraternity. At present he is
serving as medical examiner for the Odd
Fellows Lodge. Besides his sanitarium, he
owns a pleasant home in Bloomington,
where he and his wife delight to entertain
their many friends.
HORACE W. ELDER, M. D., is en-
gaged in the practice of medicine and
surgery in Bloomington, and has that love
for and devotion to his profession which
has brought to him success and won him a
place among the ablest representatives of
the medical fraternity in the county. He
was born in Bloomington, November 28,
1859, and is a son of Dr. William A. Elder,
now deceased, who was a prominent and
successful physician of that city. The fa-
ther was a native of Waterloo, New York,
and on coming west when a young man,
first located in St. Louis, where he read
medicine and graduated from the St. Louis
Medical College. He came to Blooming-
ton and for many years was one of the
leading and influential citizens of the place,
as well as one of its ablest medical prac-
titioners. He was one of the founders of
the public library of the city and was a
faithful member of the Second Presbyterian
church. He died January 3, 1895, hon-
ored and respected by all who knew him.
The mother of our subject was in her maid-
enhood Miss Mary E. Owen, a daughter of
Dr. Robert C. Owen, of Homer, New
York. She is still living in Bloomington
and is a member of the Episcopal church.
Our subject is the oldest of the three chil-
dren of the family, the others being Lil-
lian, wife of J. P. Walker, of Blooming-
ton; and Josephine M., at home.
During his boyhood and youth Dr.
Elder, of this review, attended the public
schools of his native city and was gradua-
ted from the high school in 1876. He
then studied pharmacy for two years in the
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and on
his return to Bloomington was employed as
a drug clerk until 1885, when he embarked
in the drug business on his own account,
conducting a store there for six years. Go-
ing to St. Louis, he took a two years
course in the Marion Simms Medical Col-
lege and one year at the Barnes Medical
College, from which he was graduated in
the spring of 1893. The following year he
spent in Chicago, and in 1894 went to Phila-
delphia, taking a post-graduate course at
Jefferson Medical College. Five years of
preparation had well fitted him for his
chosen profession, and on opening an office
in Bloomington in 1895, he was not long in
building up an excellent practice. After the
death of his father many of his old patients
came to our subject, and he now has quite
an extensive private practice. He is also
a member of the medical staff of the Dea-
coness Hospital, and also has charge of the
general practice in the Bloomington Free
Polyclinic, of which he is one of the
founders and which has proved quite a suc-
cess, having between five and six thousand
50
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
treatments the first year. He gives his en-
tire attention to the duties of his profes-
sion, is examining physician for a number
of prominent insurance companies, and is
a prominent member of the McLean County
Medical Society. He is a progressive phy-
sician and keeps well posted on the latest
discoveries and theories in the science of
medicine and surgery. Of a pleasant, ge-
nial manner, he makes many friends, is
quite prominent socially, and is a member
of the Royal Arcanum.
On the 7th of April, 1885, Dr. Elder
was united in marriage with Miss Ella C.
Slater, a daughter of Mrs. G. B. Slater, of
Brooklyn, New York, and they now have
one son, Edmund W. The Doctor and his
wife are members of St. Mathews Episco-
pal church, and in the best social circles of
the city occupy an enviable position.
v/ TOHN A. SCHNEIDER. A brilliant ex-
yJ ample of a self-made American citizen
and a grand exemplification of the progress
that an ambitious foreigner can make in this
country of unbounded opportunities, is
shown in the case of Mr. Schneider, one of
the leading German-American residents of
Bloomington. His singular success is due
to his own energy and the high ideal which
his lofty and laudable ambition placed be-
fore him. Success in any walk of life is an
indication of earnest endeavor and persever-
ing effort, — characteristics that our subject
possesses in an eminent degree.
Mr. Schneider was born in Deidesheim,
Bavaria, Germany, May 29, 1845, but the
ancestral home of the family was at Ruperts-
berg. His grandfather, Michael Schneider,
was one of the most prominent and influen-
tial citizens of that place, and at the time of
his death was serving as burgomaster or
mayor. Many of the cousins of our subject
still hold prominent positions there. His
father, Henry Schneider, owned large vine-
yards and was quite extensively engaged in
the manufacture of wines and in distilling
liquors, in which he also dealt. At the time
of his removal to Deidesheim he had to pay
one thousand dollars for citizenship, al-
though that place was only a mile from his
old home in Rupertsberg. He married
Katherine Baer, who belonged to an old
Lutheran family, and they became the par-
ents of seven children, all of whom are still
living, namely: Henry, who served for
nine years in the German army and partici-
pated in the Franco-Prussian war; John A.,
our subject; Bernhardt, a resident of Bloom-
ington; Katherina; Michael; Elizabeth; and
Theresa. All reside in Germany with the
exception of our subject and Bernhardt.
The father died in 1S93, the mother in
1863.
For seven years during his boyhood John
A. Schneider attended the public schools of
his native place, for a time was a student in
a night school, and pursued his studies un-
der private tutors at home. He learned
the cooper's trade in a shop conducted in
connection with his father's business. Aft-
er coming to the United States he worked
at that trade as a journeyman at different
places, including three years at Peoria.
In 1866, he located in Evansville, Indiana,
where he learned the baker's trade and con-
tinued to work at the same there for two
years. Later he went to Missouri and dif-
ferent parts of the west, and finally in 1874
came to Bloomington, where in Mr. Gerk-
en's bakery he was employed as foreman
until 18S2, when he resigned his position
and embarked in business on his own ac-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
51
count at the corner of Grove and Center
streets, doing all the work himself. His
trade having steadily increased, he was ob-
liged to seek more commodious quarters,
and in 1886 he purchased a large brick
block at the corner of Center and Oliver
streets. He occupies the whole building,
which is forty-four by ninety-nine feet, two
stories in height, with a basement. This is
fitted up with the latest improved machinery
and ovens, making it a thoroughly modern
plant. Besides his large retail trade, he
now does one of the largest wholesale baking
businesses in central Illinois, shipping his
goods to Indiana points. Kankakee, Dan-
ville and Pekin, Illinois. He furnishes em-
ployment to sixteen men. Coming to the
new world as he did without capital, he de-
serves great credit for the success that he
has achieved in life, it being due entirely to
his own industry, enterprise, perseverance
and good management.
On the 2nd of February, 1870, at St.
Charles, Missouri, Mr. Schneider was united
in marriage with Miss Mary G. Danzebrink,
a daughter of Bernhardt and Katherina
(Grove) Danzebrink, natives of Germany
and now residents of St. Charles. The fa-
ther came to the United States during his
boyhood, in 1812, and is a pensioner of the
Mexican war and was also a soldier of the
Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have
two daughters: Josie K. is now the wife of
Richard E. Hurst and to them has been born
a daughter, Leah, while by a former mar-
riage she has a son, John W. Penner Hurst.
Lillian, the second daughter of our subject,
married Henry A. Ulbrich, of Bloomington,
and has one son, Harry A., a bright boy of
two years. Our subject and his wife have
a pleasant home at the corner of Grove and
West streets.
Although of foreign birth, America has
no more loyal or patriotic citizen than Mr.
Schneider, who, as a Republican, is promi-
nently identified with local political affairs,
and does all in his power to advance the
interests of city, state and nation. For
four years he most efficiently served as su-
pervisor of Bloomington township, and while
in that office gave his support to the tneas-
ure of letting children remain in the orphans'
home until eighteen, instead of turning them
out at sixteen, and the bill was passed. He
also moved to have convict labor in state in-
itutions abandoned, and it was also carried
before the board. At the re-organization of
the city in 1897, fourteen aldermen were
elected — one-half for two years and one-
half for one year. He was among the num-
ber and in casting lots he drew the shorter
term, serving during the 3'ear of 1897-8.
He was chairman of the committee on streets
and alleys and most ably respected the third
ward. Socially, he is an honored member
of Mozart Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Uhland Lodge,
I. O. O. F.; and Shabbonay Tribe, I. O. R.
M., with which he has been connected sixteen
years and has served as treasurer ten years
of that time. He also belongs to National
Union, Pythias Lodge, No. 161, K. P., of
which he is a charter member and trustee,
and a member of the Uniformed Rank No.
22, K. P. He has been chieftain of the
League of Red Men, Pocahontas Tribe, and
a member of the Turners Society.
DANIEL J. OTTO, who is practically
living a retired life on his fine farm in
section 30, Normal township, is a splendid
representative of that class of German-
American citizens who have done so much
to advance the material interests of their
52
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
adopted country. For many years he was
one of the most active and enterprising
farmers in the county, industrious as the
day was long, but in the lapse of time he
has accumulated sufficiently of this world's
goods to enable him to lay aside business
cares and take life easy. It is not his na-
ture, however, to be idle, so he still does
such work as he may feel inclined to do.
He was born in Hessen, Germany, Septem-
ber II, 1833, and there received his primary
education in his native language. His fa-
ther, John Otto, was a native of the same
province, and by occupation was a farmer.
He married Mrs. Margaret Brenneman, ucc
Otto, who was a distant relative, and they
became the parents of three children: Anna,
who married Henry Eisenfeld, of Peru, 111.;
Daniel J., our subject; and Jacob, who died
at the age of twenty-one years on the old
home place in Pennsylvania. By her first
husband, Samuel Brenneman, Mrs. Otto
had three children: Mary, Samuel and
Katie.
In 1845 John Otto came with his family
to the United States and located in Somer-
set county, Pennsylvania, where he pur-
chased what was known as soldier's lot,
comprising two hundred acres of land, which
was all in timber, and from which very little
clearing had been done and on which no
improvements had been made. With the
energy characteristic of the race he went to
work, cleared the land and in due time had
a good farm. He remained on that farm
during the remainder of his life, dying in
1857. His wife survived him but one year,
when she, too, passed to her reward.
The subject of this sketch was but twelve
years old when he accompanied his parents
to the United States, and for about one
year after his arrival he atteuded the public
schools of Somerset county, Pennsylvania,
and acquired a fair knowledge of the En-
glish language. After that short time in the
schools of his adopted country he com-
menced work with his father in clearing the
farm of its heavy timber, and in the school
of experience acquired the greater part of
the knowledge now possessed. He remained
with his father until twenty-one years old,
when he left home and came to McLean
county, Illinois. This was in the spring of
1855. For two years he worked by the
month for various persons, and then rented
a farm in Ailin township on which he re-
mained si.x years, in the meantime accumu-
lating sufficient means to purchase one hun-
dred and twenty acres in the same town-
ship. This he improved while still continu-
ing to work his rented land. His first pur-
chase was made in i860, and this he later
traded for one hundred and sixty acres, also
in Allin township. After residing on this
last farm for four years he sold it for fifty
dollars an acre and in 1867 moved to
Champaign county, where he purchased
a farm of four hundred acres on which he
remained for six years. He was not pleased,
however, with that farm, and in 1875 traded
it for a farm of two hundred and twenty-
three acres in Normal and Dry Grove town-
ships, McLean county, giving in addition
four thousand dollars in cash. It was his
judgment that the land in Normal township
was far superior to that in Champaign
county, and he has never felt any reason to
change his mind in that regard.
On returning to McLean county, Mr.
Otto located on the Normal farm and there
remained twelve years, during which time
he made several purchases of land as his
means permitted. He first purchased one
hundred and sixty acres in Dry Grove town-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
53
ship, and a little later ninety acres in Nor-
mal township, then eighty acres more in
Dry Grove township, adjoining his first
purchase of ninety acres. He next bought
eighty acres adjoining the last eighty, after
which he bought eighty acres more in Nor-
mal township, adjoining his first ninety,
paying for the same one hundred dollars
per acre. His next purchase was of forty-
three acres adjoining the other place, for
which he paid one hundred and seventeen
dollars per acre.
On the 27th of April, 1857, Mr. Otto
married Miss Jacobina Otto, a native of
Butler county, Ohio, and daughter of Daniel
and Barbara Otto. Her father moved to
McLean county at an early day and became
one of the large land owners of the county.
By this union ten children were born, four
of whom died in infancy. Of those who
reached mature years, John E. married
Mary Bohrer, and they have had six chil-
dren, four of whom are living, Gertrude B.,
Lillian, Hattie and Elsie. They reside in
Dry Grove township. Samuel B. married
Mary Basting, by whom he had three chil-
dren, Mabel, Roy and Ralph. His second
marriage was with Sarah Baumetz, and they
have one child, Grace. They are living in
Normal township. Albert married Minnie
Basting, and they have four children, Clara,
May, Pearl and Alvin. They reside in Dry
Grove township. Eliza married Henry C.
Lowrey, and with their two children, Joseph
Otto and Lawrence, they live in Storey
county, Iowa. George D. married Jennie
Meyer, and they have three children,
Harvey M., Blanche and Chester. They
reside in Normal township. Charles E.
married Gertrude Kirkpatrick, and they
have one child, Cleta, Their home is in
Normal township.
On the 30th of September, 1884, Mrs.
Otto departed this life, and her remains
were interred in the cemetery at Blooming-
ton. She was a good woman, a kind and
loving wife and mother, and had many
friends to mourn her loss. October 6,
1886, Mr. Otto again married, taking as
his wife Miss Mary Houston, a native of
Monroe county, Indiana, and daughter of
Alfred Houston, who is now living a retired
life in Rantoul, Illinois. There are no
children by this last union, but in January,
1S90, Mr. and Mrs. Otto adopted the or-
phan son of a brother of Mrs. Otto, and
the little one, Allen C. Houston, is now
attending the district school.
Mr. Otto has always kept the best
grade of stock, hogs, cattle and horses,
and has always endeavored to feed all the
grain he raised. For eighteen years he
was engaged in the business of fattening
cattle for the market, and in this line was
unusually successful. In fact success has
crowned all his efforts in life. On coming
to this county he had a good chopping axe,
which he wielded with a good strong arm,
and from which it may almost be said that
with it he hewed out a fortune, for it was his
entire capital. He is now the owner of over
eight hundred acres of as fine land as there
is in McLean county, which is truly the
garden spot of the state. All his land is
under cultivation and well improved in
every respect, having excellent farm houses
and barns, with such outbuildings as are
necessary in carrying on well regulated
farms. On his farms he has put down
over six thousand dollars worth of tiling,
and made many other substantial improve-
ments.
Politically, Mr. Otto is a Republican on
national issues, but in local elections is de-
54
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
cidedly independent, voting for tiie best
men regardless of the party names which
they wear. He has never cared for office,
but served one term as a member of the
county board of supervisors from Dry
Grove township, and was also assessor of
that township for one term. For nine
years he was trustee of schools in Dry
Grove township, and for two years served
in the same office in Normal township. He
is a member of the Mennonite church, with
which he has been connected since he was
sixteen years old. His wife is a member
of the Christian church. Both are held in
the highest esteem, and they have many
friends throughout the county, who esteem
them for their worth's sake.
CHARLES ROSS PARKE, M. D., is the
oldest practicing physician of Bloom-
ington, and one of the most eminent mem-
bers of the profession in this section of the
state. One of the most exacting of all the
higher lines of occupation to which a man
may lend his energies is that of the physi-
cian. A most scrupulous preliminary train-
ing is demanded and a nicety of judgment
little understood by the laity. Then again
the profession brings its devotees into almost
constant association with the sadder side of
life, — that of pain and suffering, — so that a
mind capable of greal self control and a
heart responsive and sympathetic are essen-
tial attributes of him who would assay the
healing art. Thus when professional suc-
cess is attained in any instance it may be
taken as certain that such measure of suc-
cess has been thoroughly merited. Lacking
in none of the attributes of the eminent
medical practitioner. Dr. Parke has long oc-
cupied a leading place in the ranks of his
professional brethren, and his reputation
extends far beyond the boundaries of this
county.
A native of Parkesburg, Chester county,
Pennsylvania, he was born on the 25th of
June, 1823, and is a son of George Wash-
ington and Mary (Ross) Parke. The family
is of Scotch-Irish extraction and was found-
ed in America by the Doctor's great-grand-
father, who left his home in the nortli of
Ireland and emigrated to the new world,
prior to the war of the Revolution. Taking
up land, he made a good home and reared a
family. His son William Parke, grandfa-
ther of our subject, was one of the heroes
in the war for independence. He belonged to
the " Flying Camp," and participated in a
number of battles. After the establishment
of the republic, he became one of the im-
portant factors in the public life, and in
Pennsylvania served as a member of the state
legislature, and was also a member of the
committee of safety during the war.
George W. Parke was a native of Parkes-
burg, Pennsylvania, and after arriving at
years of maturity engaged in farming, in
milling and in the tanning business. He
was recognized as one of the most progress-
ive and enterprising men of the town of
Parkesburg, which was built upon a part of
the land originally purchased by our sub-
ject's great-grandfather and derived its name
from the Parke family. A section of his
farm is still in possession of his descend-
ants. George W. Parke served as register
of deeds at Westchester for some time, and
during the war of 1812 carried arms in de-
fence of his country's ilag. Another mem-
ber of the family who attained prominence
in military circles was General John G.
Parke, a cousin of the Doctor, who was re-
tired from his command at West Point.
CHARLES ROSS PARKE, M. D.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
57
George W. Parke was twice married, the
mother of our subject being his second wife.
She belonged to an honored family of
Chester county, Pennsylvania, and by her
marriage she became the mother of three
children, but the Doctor is the only one
now living. The parents both retained
their residence in the Keystone state until
death, and both had passed the eightieth
milestone on life's journey when called to
the home beyond. They were members of
the Presbyterian church, and commanded
the respect of all who knew them.
Dr. Parke acquired his preliminary edu-
cation in the common schools near his
home, later pursued his studies at West-
chester, Pennsylvania, and then attended
Science Hill, a private school, conducted
by Joshua Hoopes, a Quaker educator.
He began preparation for his profession as
a student in the office of Dr. Wilmer Worth-
ington, and subsequently took a three
years' course in the University of Pennsyl-
vania, at Philadelphia, where he was grad-
uated in the class of 1847. For a year
thereafter he practiced in Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, and in the fall of 1848 came
to Illinois, locating at Como, on the Rock
river, in Whiteside county. Attracted by
the discovery of gold in California, how-
ever, he crossed the plains in the spring of
1849, going as "surgeon to the Como Com-
pany. He now belongs to the society
known as "The '49s of Chicago." The
party journeyed to Sacramento and thence
proceeded up Feather river, fording that
stream at Marysville, when only one adobe
house marked the site of the town. Dr.
Parke spent the winter among the mines,
and in the spring returned to Marysville for
groceries. In the meantime quite a village
had sprung up, and a steamboat lay at the
wharf, while in other parts of the state
were little towns, indicating the rapid de-
velopment of the region. In the fall of
1850 Dr. Parke went to Sacramento, where
he engaged in the practice of medicine for
a few months. Starting for home, he took
passage at San Francisco on a schooner
bound for Panama, but in a storm they
were obliged to seek harbor off Cape St.
Lucas, and in another gale were driven by
the winds to the vicinity of the Sandwich
Islands. Eventually they sailed eastward
until they reached the coast of Central
America, where the passengers hired teams
to convey them by way of Lake Nicaragua
to Graytown or San Juan, where the canal
is now being constructed. Arriving too
late to take the steamer, they went on an
English vessel to Chagres. and thence to
New Orleans.
The Doctor then came to the north and
after practicing his profession near Peoria,
Illinois, for a year, came to Bloomington in
1852. He found here a small village of
twenty-five hundred people, and has wit-
nessed its splendid growth and development
into a populous and enterprising city. He
continued in practice here until the ist of
August, 1855, when, through the instru-
mentality of the Russian minister, he re-
ceived an appointment to a position as sur-
geon in the regular army of the czar, and
went to the Crimea, where he served in the
hospital in the capital city until peace was
declared. He was then sent to the holy
city of Kiev, and later traveled through
Prussia, spending some time in Berlin.
Subsequently he went to France and Den-
mark, then over the mountains to Stock-
holm, Sweden, back to Prussia, thence to
Berlin, to Paris and to Brussels, London,
and Southampton, sailing from the latter
58
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
place for his native land, where he arrived
on Thanksgiving day of 1857. Thus, through
extensive travel on the continent, he gained
a comprehensive and accurate knowledge of
European countries, their peoples and the
manners and customs of the old world, — a
knowledge that has since enriched his con-
versation with anecdote and reminiscence.
Dr. Parke spent the winter after his re-
turn with his father, and in the spring of
1858 again came to Bloomington, where he
resumed the general practice of medicine.
He was married on the 3d of October, 1866,
to Mrs. Lucy Keith, of this city, a daughter
of Edmund Didlake, formerly of Winches-
ter, Kentucky. They lost their only child,
and on account of the poor health of his
wife, Dr. Parke removed to a plantation in
the south, where they remained until Mrs.
Parke was fully restored, returning in 1870.
The Doctor has been an active practitioner
in Bloomington, and now has a large office
practice. He is also chief of the medical
staff of St. Joseph's Hospital and surgeon
of that institution, which he aided the Sis-
ters in founding, making it one of the most
perfectly equipped hospitals in central Illi-
nois. He has a very large surgical prac-
tice and has successfully performed many
difficult and important operations. His suc-
cess in this branch of the profession is due
to his wonderfully minute and accurate ac-
quaintance with anatomy, combined with
exquisite power of diagnosis, a cool head,
steady muscles and great mechanical genius.
He has ever been a close student of his pro-
fession, and his comprehensive knowledge
of the principles of the medical science ren-
ders him an eminent follower of this im-
portant calling.
Dr. Parke is a valued member of the
McLean County Medical Society, of which
he has served as president; of the State
Medical Association, and of the American
Medical Association, and has twice served
as a member of the board of pension exam-
iners by appointment of President Cleve-
land. Dr. Parke was the first president of
the George Rogers Clarke Chapter of the
Sons of the American Revolution, in Bloom-
ington. He has served for several years as
president of the Library Association of
Bloomington, and is an advocate of all
measures and movements which tend to ad-
vance the intellectual, material, social and
moral welfare of the city. He has enjoyed
honors and success in his professional ca-
reer, but in private life has gained that
warm personal regard which arises from
true nobilitv of character, deference for the
opinions of others, kindliness and geniality.
SAMUEL R. WHITE. The career of
Samuel R. White is so closely inter-
woven with the progress and development
of Bloomington that the history of the city
would be incomplete without the record of
his life. To say of him that he has risen
unaided from comparative obscurity to rank
among the most successful men of this sec-
tion of Illinois, is a statement that seems
trite to those familiar with his life, yet it is
but just to say in a history that will descend
to future generations that his business
record has been one that any man would
be proud to possess. Beginning with no
capital save determined purpose and lauda-
ble ambition, he has worked his way steadily
upward step by step until he is now occupy-
ing a position of prominence and trust in
the industrial world reached by very few
men. Through his entire business career
he has been looked upon as a model of in-
tegrity and honor, never making an engage-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
59
ment that he has not fulfilled, and standing
to-day as an example of what determination
and force, combined with the highest degree
of business integrity, can accomplish for a
man of natural ability and strength of char-
acter.
A native of the neighboring state of In-
diana, Mr. White was born in Huntington,
December 27, 1846, and is a son of James
and Lucy (Phelps) White. The father was
born in North Carolina, and when about
four years old lost his father. He spent his
youth in the place of his nativity, and when
about twenty-five years of age removed to
Indiana. In his early manhood he engaged
in merchandising in Ohio, but on account
of ill health removed to a farm, where he
carried on agricultural pursuits until his
death, which occurred in January, 1853,
when Samuel R. White was a little lad of
only four summers. He left a widow and
four children who grew to mature years,
namely: Mary A., now Mrs. Foulke, of
Whiting, Kansas; Mrs. Laura A. Reed, of
Bloomington; James and Samuel R. After
the death of her first husband Mrs. White
became the wife of John Reed, of Wabash,
Indiana, whence they removed to Bloom-
ington in 1884. Mrs. Reed died about
1888, but Mr. Reed is still living in this
city at the advanced age of ninety years.
In early life she was a member of the Pres-
byterian church, but afterward held mem-
bership in the Christian church.
In the district schools Samuel R. White
acquired his education, pursuing his studies
until seventeen years of age, through the
winter season. In the summer months he
assisted in the labors of field and meadow
and when nineteen years of age he left the
farm in order to serve an apprenticeship to
the carpenter's trade in Wabash county,
Indiana. In 1 868 he came to Illinois, work-
ing as a journeyman in various parts of the
state, including the towns of Winona and
Ottawa. In 1S69 he returned to Hunting-
ton, where he began contracting on his own
account on a small scale, meeting with suc-
cess in the undertaking. He was married
there, and in the spring of 1870 removed
with his bride to Bloomington. It was his
intention to locate elsewhere, but while seek-
ing a favorable opening he began working
at his trade in this city, and in 1872 entered
upon an independent business career as a
contractor and builder. He erected a num-
ber of school-houses, dwellings and barns
throughout the county, and as he demon-
strated his ability in the line of his chosen
vocation his patronage constantly increased
and the nature of his work partook of a
more important character. His force of
workmen was likewise enlarged, and his en-
terprise and capable management was
crowned with a fair degree of success. In
1874 he erected the Stevenson hardware
store in Front street; in 1875 the First Ward
school building; and various residences in
the city also indicate his handiwork. He
was thus engaged in contracting until 1879,
when he withdrew from that business, hav-
ing in the meantime turned his attention to
other lines, which he believed would prove
more profitable. In 1873 he established a
lumber and coal yard which he also con-
ducted until 1S78.
In that year he founded what has be-
come one of the leading industrial concerns
of the city. He began the manufacture of
house furniture in an old mill, which was
operated by rented power and which stood
on the site of his present commodious and
substantial plant. He utilized his carpenter
shop for a sales and store room, and acted
6o
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
as his own traveling salesman, going upon
the road to sell his goods. Prosperity at-
tended the new venture and his trade, con-
stantly increasing in volume and importance,
had in 1883 reached such dimensions that
he was enabled to erect a planing mill and
factory, located at No. 304 Douglass street.
As the years passed great changes were
made in the style of furniture and extensive
corporations were monopolizing the trade,
which caused him to abandon the manufact-
ure of furniture and begin the construction
of sash, doors and blinds. This enterprise
has continued one of the leading industrial
concerns of the eity, and has proven a very
profitable investment. In 1884, a fire de-
stroyed the plant, which was a three-story
frame building, but with characteristic en-
ergy he made preparation for the immediate
continuance of his business by purchasing
the old mill in which he began operations
and erecting on the site the main part of his
present plant, a three-story brick structure,
si.xty by si.xty feet, supplied with capacious
boilers and engines and the latest improved
machinery for carrying on the work. Later
he purchased the remainder of the half
block on which the plant was located and
removing a dwelling and livery barn built
an addition to his factory in order to meet
the demands of his constantly increasing
patronage. The greater part of the ground
is now covered with the building, a three-
story brick structure, one hundred and fif-
teen by one hundred and eighty feet, provid-
ing ample accommodation for carrying on
the business. The plant is ecjuipped through-
out with the most modern and highly im-
proved machinery, and his trade has more
than doubled since the building was enlarged.
He also manufactures store furniture in ad-
dition to lumber, sash, doors and blinds.
and the output of the factory is very large.
In the conduct of the enterprise he has been
very successful, owing to his keen discrim-
ination, his sound judgment, enterprise,
and executive ability. Only a small insur-
ance covered the plant that was first de-
stroyed by fire, and in 1889 he again suf-
fered loss through the fiery element, but
with undaunted courage he continued his
labors and triumphed over the difficulties
which he had met.
Mr. White is a man of resourceful busi-
ness ability, and his efforts have been by
no means confined to one line. He has
been the promoter of many of the leading
business concerns of the city, and has there-
by not only promoted his individual pros-
perity but has largely advanced the welfare
of the city. On the site of his first planing
mill he erected four flat buildings which
were supplied with all the conveniences of
that time. While engaged in contracting
he was appointed an e.xpert appraiser for
an insurance company, and thus formed an
extensive acquaintance which enabled him
to secure many large contracts in various
parts of the country, and furnish employ-
ment to from two hundred to two hundred
and fifty men. He erected buildings for
the American Sugar Refining Company,
the Realty Cooperage Company, the Pull-
man Palace Car Company, the Bradner
Smith Paper Company's Mill, and repaired
the Hotel Peoria and the Dunlap House.
In the line of his insurance business, he was
called as an expert adjuster from New Or-
leans to Manitoba and from Baltimore to
Denver, settling losses for various compa-
nies. His tact and discrimination com-
bined with marked executive ability, made
him very successful in that line of work,
and his labors were most satisfactory to the
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
6i
companies he represented. Mr. White is
now the representative of many industrial
and manufacturing concerns, whose pros-
perity is largely attributable to his wise
counsel in the management of their affairs.
In 1894 he was one of the organizers of the
Bloomington Store Fixture Company, which
succeeded to the business of H. A. Miner
and was capitalized for twenty thousand
dollars, its officers being Mr. White, presi-
dent, and Mr. Rodman, general manager.
They manufacture store and office furniture,
employ forty workmen, and ship their goods
into almost every state of the Union. In
1894 our subject erected what is known as
the White Block, a five-story and base-
ment brick structure, seventy- si.x by one
hundred and twelve feet, to which an ad-
dition, fifty by eighty feet, and three
stories in height, has been made. This
building is supplied with power from the
planing mill across the street, by rope
transmission. The store fi.xtures occupj'
more than three floors and the basement in
this large building. Mr. White is also in-
terested in the Corn Belt Printing Company,
of which he is president, and is a stock-
holder in the Novelty Manufacturing Com-
pany, the partners being C. F. Shunkle and
Mr. White. In this enterprise employment
is furnished from fifteen to eighteen men.
Mr. White is likewise interested in the B. S.
Constant Company, which manufactures
machinery for grain elevators, is a stock-
holder in the A. N. Stevens Company, a
large grocery firm in the same block. The
various enterprises with which he is con-
nected furnish employment to about two
hundred and fifty men, and thus materially
aid in the progress and advancement of the
city, for the general welfare is dependent
entirel)' upon commercial activity.
Bloomington is also indebted to him for
improvements which add to her beauty. He
has laid out one of the most attractive ad-
ditions to the city, called "White's Place."
It comprises thirty acres of land, and upon
this property he placed improvements to the
value of thirteen thousand dollars, in the
year 1898. In the center of the tract is a
broad street, seventy feet wide. This is
divided into three equal sections, the center
being transformed into a park adorned with
trees, grass, flowers and a fountain. On
each side asphalt paving extends for sixteen
feet. The lots are sixty feet wide and a
building line insures the beauty that arises
from uniformity. The sewer, water and
gas connections have all been made through
the alleys in the rear, and heavy teams are
also to deliver their goods through that way,
so that the boulevard is used only for pleas-
ure driving. All of the buildings will be
heated by steam, and White's Place will
eventually become one of the most beauti-
ful districts of the city. His own pleasant
home is located on Mulberry street, where
he has resided for thirteen years.
On the 2 1st of September, 1869, Mr.
White was united in marriage to Miss Min-
erva E. Moore, daughter of Samuel and
Elizabeth Moore, who resided in Hunting-
ton county, Indiana, six miles from the city
of that name. To Mr. and Mrs. White have
been born six children who are yet living:
Louis A., who married Lillian Wood, of
Chicago, and is engaged in business in
Bloomington; Ora E., who is now interested
in the management of the S. R. White
Manufacturing Company, and married Miss
Minnie Merrideth, by whom he has one
child, Samuel R., Jr.; Elizabeth, at home;
Alma, wife of S. M. McEwan, chief train
dispatcher of the Chicago, Burlington &
62
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Quincy Railroad, at St. Joseph, Missouri;
Samuel Warren, who is manager of the
Star Novelty Manufacturing Company; and
Dalmar, at home. The parents are mem-
bers of the First Methodist Episcopal church,
in which Mr. White is serving as trustee.
He also occupies a similar position in con-
nection with the Woman's Industrial Home,
and is a liberal contributor to both. He
has always been willing to devote his wealth
and energies to any feasible undertaking
that would increase the prosperity of the
city and add to the comfort of its inhab-
itants. His life has been a success. He
has accumulated a competency and has
used only such means as will bear the clos-
est scrutiny. He has for thirty years been
an active factor in advancing the city of
Bloomington, and during that entire time
has so conducted all of his affairs as to
command the esteem, confidence and re-
spect of all classes. Personally he is socia-
ble, ever willing to accord to any one the
courtesy of an interview, and is entirely
free from ostentation or display. His ac-
tions during his life have been such as to ac-
cord him recognition among the represent-
ative men of this great state, and although
his career has not been filled with thrilling
incidents, probably no biography in this
volume can serve as a better illustration to
young men of the power of honesty and in-
tegrity in insuring business.
PHILIP A. KARR is the well-known
superintendent of the county poor farm
of McLean county, which position he has
held since March, 1893, and which he has
filled in a most commendable and satisfac-
tory manner. A native of Indiana, he was
born November i, 1850, twenty-four miles
northeast of Indianapolis, and can trace
his ancestry back to 1640. The Karr
family is of Scotch origin. The paternal
great-great-grandfather of our subject was
Captain John Ivarr, who served with dis-
tinction as an officer in a New Jersey
regiment during the Revolutionary war,
and later participated in the war of 181 2.
He was one of the early members of the
Masonic order in this country, and the Ma-
sonic apron which he carried through both
wars is now one of the most cherished pos-
sessions of our subject. Later in life he
came west and made his home with his
children in McLean county, dying at the
home of his son-in-law, Hiram Buck, near
Leroy, in 1840. He is one of the few
Revolutionary soldiers buried here. Walter
Karr, the great-grandfather of our subject,
was born near Hackettstown, New Jersey,
and at an early day removed to Ohio, where
his death occurred. The grandfather,
Philip Karr, owned and operated a farm
near that of General William Henry Har-
rison, in Ohio. He purchased the place at
an early day and continued to make his
home there until his removal to Indiana,
where he also opened up and improved a
farm. He died in the latter state about
1849 or 1850. He was a well-known and
prominent business man, and at one time
engaged in the freighting business from
Cincinnati to Indianapolis with a six-horse
team. He married a Miss Granger.
Arthur C. Karr, our subject's father,
was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, De-
cember 30, 1827, upon the farm adjoining
that of General Harrison, but was reared
in Indiana, remaining under the parental
roof until he attained his majority. At
that time he was united in marriage with
Miss Sarah J. Guinn, a native of West Vir-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
63
ginia, and to them were born nine chil-
dren, of whom eight are still living, our
subject being the eldest. After his mar-
riage, the father lived upon a farm in In-
diana from 1849 until 1855, when he re-
moved to Warren county, Iowa, locating
fifteen miles southeast of Des Moines, where
the family lived in true pioneer style. They
reached their destination July 4, 1855, but
as houses were scarce it was two months
before they secured a home, which was a
small log house with no floor, no nails be-
ing used in its construction. Here the
father and mother, with their three chil-
dren, besides two widows with three chil-
dren each, lived in one room, at the end of
which was a huge fire place, the back logs
for which were drawn into the room by a
horse. Although the family encountered
all the hardships of pioneer life, our sub-
ject still numbers it among ihe most pleas-
ant and happy winters he ever spent.
Game was plentiful, hunting was good and
the Indians had left for their homes farther
west. The father was first engaged in the
sawmill business in Iowa, and at that he
prospered. Later he engaged in merchan-
dising, but failed in business during the
panic of 1857. That year he was also
taken ill and was confined to his bed for
three years, but finally recovered, though
his friends did not believe it possible at the
time. Being a natural mechanic, he ne.xt
worked at the wagonmaker's trade, and
was considered one of the best in Dewitt
county, Illinois, where he moved September
7, 1864. He manufactured everything
needed in his business, and successfully
worked at his trade until cheap factory-
made vehicles replaced the better ones
made by hand. He was quite prominent
in Wapella and vicinity, but never aspired
to office. He died March 13, 1899, hon-
ored and respected by all who knew him.
In 1866 he united with the Christian
church, though he had been a consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church
for twenty years previous. His widow is
still living at the age of seventy-two years
and is still quite bright and active.
Philip A. Karr, our subject, began his
education in a primitive log school-house
near Des Moines, with its greased paper
window and rude furniture, and though his
educational advantages were limited, he has
by reading and observation become a well-
informed man, having a broad and practical
knowledge of men and affairs that could not
be derived from books. During his father's
long illness he began to work in the fields
at the age of nine years, cultivating a small
patch of ground in order to assist in the
support of the family. On New Year's day
of 1864, when it was thirty-si.x degrees be-
low zero, he went three miles and cut a
load of wood, which he brougt home, being
at that time only thirteen years of age.
Since the age of ten he has been entirely
dependent upon his own resources, receiv-
ing no financial aid from his father, and un-
til twenty-two he practically supported the
family, while at that time he assumed an
indebtedness of three hundred and fifty dol-
lars incurred for family expenses, and also
gave his father a good home during the last
twelve years of his life.
On the 9th of October, 1872, Mr. Karr
married Miss Willie A., daughter of John
Karr, who was a resident of De Witt coun-
ty, Illinois, and to them have been born
seven children, namely: Clara M., who
died December 19, 1S94, at the age of
twenty years; Homer G., employed as night
watchman at county farm; Fred T., who is
64
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
engaged in farming in Old Town township;
Albert, who died at the age of thirteen
months; Roy, at home; Eunice, who died
in infanc)'; and Daisy Dotty Dimple, at
home.
For four or five years after his marriage
Mr. Karr engaged in farming upon rented
land in De Witt county, and then operated
a thresher and corn sheller for about the
same length of time. In this way he secured
his start in life, but felt the effects of the
hard times of 1876. In 1881 he again
turned his attention to farming, and two
years later embarked in the brick and tile
business, buying the plant of a bankrupt
company two miles from Wapella, and from
a small beginning he soon built up an excel-
lent trade. During the second year a stock
company was formed, and he served as
director and manager until July 4, 1883,
when he retired from the corporation on ac-
count of his views on the temperance ques-
tion. He then organized another stock
company, of which he was secretary, and
commenced operating a new plant at Funk's
Grove, where he did a successful business,
furnishing employment to from fifteen to
twenty-five men. He manufactured most
of the tile used in this locality, and also
shipped considerable. In connection with
that business he also conducted a sawmill,
and success crowned his well-directed efforts.
He continued his residence at Funk's Grove
when he took possession of his present office
in March, 1893. By the county board of su-
pervisors, he was appointed superintendent
of the poor farm in 1892, there being six in
competition against him. At the end of five
years, or in 1898 he was re-appointed having
two opponents. This farm consists of three
hundred acres, and as regards buildings and
grounds is considered the best county farm
in central Illinois. It now has from one
hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty
inmates, though when Mr. Karr took charge
they numbered but ninety-six. He has
proved a most efficient and popular superin-
tendent, the duties of the position having
never been more faithfully or satisfactorily
performed. Since casting his first presiden-
tial vote for General U. S. Grant, in 1872,
he has been a stanch supporter of the Re-
publican party and his duties of citizenship
have always been most conscientiously dis-
charged. He has served as school director
and road commissioner, and in all the rela-
tions of life has been found true to every
trust reposed in him. Socially, he is a mem-
ber of Shirley Lodge, F. & A. M., and the
Knights of Pythias, No. 212, at McLean, in
which he has filled the office of master of
exchequer. Religiously, both he and his
wife are earnest members of the Christian
church.
EDWIN C. HEWETT, A. M.. LL. D.,
for many years president of the Illinois
State Normal University and now associate
editor of the School and Home Education, a
periodical published in Bloomington in the
interest of education, was born in Worcester
county, Massachusetts, November i, 1S28,
and is the son of Timothy and Lavina (Leon-
ard) Hewett, both of whom were also na-
tives of Massachusetts. Timothy Hewett
was an experienced and skilled mechanic,
and also engaged in farming to a limited
extent. He is still living, a well preserved
man of ninety-three years. His good wife
passed to her reward some years ago. They
were the parents of five children, two of
whom are now living.
Dr. Hewett, who was first in order of
EDWIN C. HEWETT.
TH E NEW ^ K 1
PUBLIC LIBhARY
ASTOR, LENOX
I TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
^7
birth in the family, was reared in his native
place, and in the common schools received
his primary education. After passing through
the Academy, he attended the Bridgewater
State Normal School, then in charge of
Nicholas Stillinghast, its first principal.
Previous to his entering the Normal, he
taught school for two terms. After graduat-
ing at the Normal school, he entered, as as-
sistant, the high school at Pittsfield, Massa-
chusetts, where he remained one year, aft-
er which he was called back to Bridgewater
to become an assistant at the Normal, a po-
sition which he held for nearly four years.
At the expiration of that time he took charge
of the Thomas Grammar School, in Woos-
ter, and remained there two years.
From Worcester, Prof. Hewett was
called to Normal, Illinois, in 1858, the sec-
ond year of the establishment of the State
Normal School at that place. In that insti-
tution he held the position of Professor of
History and Geography until January, 1876,
when he was elected president of the insti-
tution, to succeed Dr. Richard Edwards,
where he remained as its efficient head until
1890, when he resigned. The State Normal
University constantly grew in its influence
and plan of education under his manage-
ment, and it is safe to say that no other
president or professor connected with the
State Normal School has had more to do
with shaping and moulding its plan and de-
veloping its power for usefulness and influ-
ence along true educational lines than Dr.
Hewett. He was with it almost from its
inception, and his thirty-two years of faith-
ful devotion could not help but leave its
impress upon its working force.
Dr. Hewett received his degree of A. M.
from the (old) University of Chicago in
1863, and the degree of LL. D. was con-
ferred on him by Shurtleff College about
1878. Both honors were worthily be-
stowed. The Doctor has been an untiring
worker in educational circles, and his time
has not been confined alone to teaching,
but he has written an excellent work on
Pedagogy, and another on Psychology,
both of which are published by the Amer-
ican Book Company. He is also the author
of a series of arithmetics, published by
Rand, McNally & Co., of Chicago, and all
of his books are in practical use to-day.
As instructor in Teachers' Institutes, he
has done a great deal of valuable work, as
well as lecturing on educational topics and
writing for educational and other publica-
tions. As an educator his ability is un-
questioned, and he has been honored by
his associates in educational work in various
ways. For a time he served as president
of the State Teachers' Association of Illi-
nois, and for many years he has been an
active worker in the National Educational
Association, of which he was treasurer for
five years. Previous to his removal to
Normal, he was secretary of the Teachers'
Association of Plymouth and Wooster
counties, Massachusetts, and also held
other positions of minor importance.
In August, 1857, Dr. Hewett was joined
in marriage with Miss Angeline N. Benton,
a native of Franklin county, Massachusetts,
where she was born in 1831, and daughter
of Horace and Anna (Case) Benton, who
removed to Lee county, Illinois, in 1854.
By this union two children were born —
Mrs. R. R. Reeder, born in i860, and now
residing in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts,
and Paul, born in 1870, who died in in-
fancy. Mrs. Hewett, who was a most esti-
mable wife and loving mother, departed
this life November 21, 1895. For his second
68
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
wife, Dr. Hewett married Mrs. Helen E.
Paisley, nee Clute, of Normal, their wed-
ding ceremony being solemnized in this
city, August 31, 1898.
Dr. Hewett has been a member of the
Baptist church for many years, and by that
body was licensed to preach the gospel.
While the greater part of his life has been
given to the cause of education, he has yet
occupied the pulpit to some extent, and
his sermons are of a high order of merit,
such as one would naturally expect from
one of his learning and experience. Polit-
ically, he has always been a staunch Re-
publican.
WILLIAM HART PATTERSON. In
past ages the history of a country
was the record of wars and conquests; to-
day it is the record of commercial activity,
and those whose names are foremost in its
annals are the leaders in business circles.
The conquests now made are those of mind
over matter, not of man over man, and the
victor is he who can successfully establish,
control and operate extensive business in-
terests.
Mr. Patterson is unquestionably one of
the strongest and most influential men
whose lives have become an essential part
of the history of Bloomington and McLean
county. He was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, May 24, 1856, and is a rep-
resentative of one of the wealthiest and
most distinguished families of that state,
being a son of John J. and Lucretia E.
(Moore) Patterson. The founder of the
Patterson family in this country was born
in Ireland of Scotch ancestry and came to
America in 1702, locating in Juniata Valley,
Pennsylvania. At one time they owned
all of that valley. The great-grandfather
of our subject was John Patterson, a soldier
of the Revolutionary war, and the grand-
father was William Patterson, for whom
our subject was named. At the time of
his death, the latter was one of the wealth-
iest men in Pennsylvania. The maternal
grandfather, Silas Moore, was a prominent
citizen of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and
owned a stage line from Philadelphia to
Pittsburg before the time of railroads. He
died in 1844, John J. Patterson, father of
our subject, was born in Waterloo, Juniata
county, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1830, and
has always been quite prominent in bus-
iness and political circles of that state,
owning an interest in several railroads and
serving as United States senator.
William H. Patterson is the oldest in
a family of seven children, and in the pub-
lic schools of his native city he began his
education. Later he attended the Penn-
sylvania Military Academy at Chester,
Pennsylvania, and then entered Princeton
College as a member of the class of 1877.
After leaving college he went to Washing-
ton, D. C, his father being at that time
a member of the United States senate,
and there he read law with the firm of
Shellabarger & Wilson, both ex-members
of congress and prominent lawyers. He
also attended the Columbia Law School,
from which he was graduated with the de-
gree of LL. B., in 1879, and was admitted
to the bar in June of that year.
The following August, Mr. Patterson
was elected secretary of the People's Pass-
enger Railway of Baltimore, Maryland, and
remained with that company as secretary
and general manager until they sold out,
when he went to New Mexico on account
of his health. While in New Mexico he
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
69
was appointed assistant surveyor-general
and held that position for one year, his
home being in Santa Fe. In the fall of
1886, he returned to Washington, D. C. ,
and as general superintendent and general
manager was connected with the Eckington
& Soldiers' Home Street Railway, one of
the first electric roads built, remaining there
until March, 1890. He was also one of
the directors of the People's Road in Balti-
more. On the 1st of April, 1890, he located
in Bloomington and at once became in-
terested in the Bloomington City Railway,
as its general manager and president, until
June, 1898. He changed the road from a
mule line to the electric system, laid five
miles of track, and made many other im-
provements, insuring quicker and better
service. He was also president and part
owner of the Lincoln Street Railway Com-
pany for two years; was connected with and
for a time director of the Peoria & Pekin
Electric Railway. He has been president
of the Illinois Street Railway Association
since January, 1898, when it was formed,
and was re-elected to the office in June.
He organized the association and takes an
active interest in it. He was also one of
the organizers of the Corn Belt Bank, but
refused to become one of its directors. He
is a member of the Bloomington Club, and
was one of the directors of the Racing As-
sociation, of which he was also one of the
organizers, being quite a lover of the noble
steed.
On the 13th of January, 1881, Mr.
Patterson was united in marriage with Miss
Georgia Evans, of Washington, D. C, a
daughter of A. H. Evans, and they now
have two sons, William H., Jr., and Alexan-
der Evans. Mrs. Patterson and the older
son are members of the Episcopal church,
which our subject also attends and to which
he contributes liberally. As a Republican
he has always taken an active part in poli-
tics and has served as a delegate to state
conventions. He is a public spirited, en-
terprising citizen, always willing to give his
support to any object which he believes
calculated to prove of public benefit, and
has rendered Bloomington efficient service
as park commissioner, being first appointed
to that office in 1895 and re-appointed in
1897. During his term twelve acres were
added to Miller park, the lake was con-
structed, the zoo buildings were erected,
animals bought, a boat house was also built
and boats purchased. All of these improve-
ments and many others were made in that
park, and the other parks were also beauti-
fied and extensively improved. Mr. Patter-
son gave considerable attention to the work,
and the city now has as fine a system of
parks as any place of its size in the state.
LOIS E. LING. No foreign element has
become a more important part of our
American citizenship than that furnished by
Sweden. The emigrants from that land
have brought with them to the new world
the stability, enterprise and perseverance
characteristic of their people and have fused
these qualities with the progressiveness and
indomitable spirit of the west. We find a
worthy representative of this class in Mr.
Ling, the present alderman of the seventh
ward of Bloomington and a well-known gro-
cer of that city.
Mr. Ling was born in Ockelbo, Gefle,
Sweden, November 4, 1851, and is a son of
John Peterson, a farmer, who spent his en-
tire life in that country. He received a
good practical education in the public
70
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
schools, and while pursuing his studies in
the higher schools of his native villages, the
letters were changed from the German to
the English alphabet, so that he became fa-
miliar with both, but his knowledge of the
English language has all been acquired
during his residence here by extensive read-
ing and study. He continued to aid in the
work of the home farm until 1870, when at
the age of eighteen years, he sailed for the
United States, hoping to benefit his finan-
cial condition, and his dreams of the future
have been more than realized, for he now
occupies a very prominent place in business
circles and public affairs in Bloomington.
Locating first in Kewawnee, Illinois,
Mr. Ling found work with the railroad com-
pany, and after coming to Bloomington in
1872, worked for a time in the railroad
shops here and later in the mines for two
years. As a miner he received from five to
six dollars per day, and he thus secured a
start in life. For some time he was a mem-
ber of the city police force, being well fitted
for that position by early training in Sweden,
where he had been a member of a military
club with old military men to drill them.
It was while a member of that organization
that he took the name of Ling, it being
customary to give military men shorter
names, which the law gave them the right
to adopt. He was also a member of what
was practically a sharpshooters club, in
which he stood high, having practiced shoot-
ing from the age of ten years. Mr. Ling
was a patrolman in Bloomington for four
years or until the administration changed, he
being a Republican in politics. He obtained
a position as clerk in the clothing store of
Mr. Isaac L. Funkand there hegained hislirst
knowledge of selling goods, which has been
of much practical benefit to him in later
years. For four years he remained with
that gentleman and was then with his broth-
er for two and a half years, during which
time he erected a one-story brick building at
405 South Allen street, owing one hundred
and fifteen and a half feet there and one
hundred and four feet on West Water street.
On the completion of his building he put in
a stock of groceries and embarked in busi-
ness on his own account January 8, 1890.
He has since built an adjoining store room
and made them both two stories in height.
One he uses for his stock of groceries and
the other for a meat market, and he now
gives employment to six people, having the
best grocery trade in that part of the city.
He has also built a lovely home at the cor-
ner upon the property already mentioned.
On the 15th of March, 1873, Mr. Ling
was united in marriage with Miss Martha
Soderblom, also of Swedish birth, and they
now have two children: John Albert, who
assists his father in the meat market; and
Emma C at home. The family hold mem-
bership in the Swedish Lutheran church and
are held in high esteem by a large circle of
friends and acquaintances.
Since becoming an American citizen, Mr.
Ling has affiliated with the Republican
party, has taken an active part in local pol-
itics and has several times been a member
of the executive committee in his ward. At
the time of the re-organization of the city
in 1897, he was elected alderman for the
seventh ward for a term of two years, and
is now chairman of the committee on streets
and highways and a member of the commit-
tees on license and claims. The position of
alderman was really forced upon him as it was
his desire to give his entire attention to his
growing business interests, but being elected
through no effort of his own, he is now giv-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
71
ing it his special attention and is proving a
most efficient and popular official. Being
quite an athlete in his younger days, Mr.
Ling has developed a fine physique, is si.x
feet in height and well porportioned. As a
boy he was never subject to fear like most
lads of his age. Socially, he is a member
of the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 400.
GEORGE W. BROWN, the well-known
superintendent and general manager
of the Bloomington Stove Company, was
born in Providence, Rhode Island, July 17,
1855, and is a son of George and Ella
(Curren) Brown, the former a native of
Gloucestershire, England, the latter of Bel-
fast, Ireland. When a young man the
father crossed the Atlantic and took up his
residence in Providence, Rhode Island,
where he worked at the blacksmith's trade
until his death, which occurred in January,
1856. Both parents held membership in
the Episcopal church, and were highly
respected by all who knew them.
Our subject commenced his education
in the schools of Providence, but after the
death of the father he accompanied his
mother on her removal to Atlanta, Illinois,
and in the winter of 1866-7 came to Bloom-
ington, where he attended the public schools
for a time. On starting out in life for him-
self he entered the molding department of
the Bloomington Stove Company's works
as an apprentice, and later worked as a
molder in that foundry until August 11,
1898, when he was appointed to the responsi-
ble position of superintendent and general
manager, which he is now so creditably and
acceptably filling, having about thirty men
under him. This is one of the largest stove
works in central Illinois, and his long con-
nection with it plainly indicates his skill
and ability in his chosen calling, and the
faithful discharge of the duties devolving
upon him.
Mr. Brown was united in marriage with
Miss Jennie Winset, of Williamsport, In-
diana, who died June 13, 1898, leaving five
children, namely: Ellen, Annie, Gilbert
W. , George Benjamin and William J. So-
cially, Mr. Brown is an honored member of
Remembrance Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the
Modern Woodmen of America, and relig-
iously is a member of the Episcopal church,
with which he has been officially connected.
He is a progressive and public-spirited citi-
zen who gives his support to all enterprises
for the public good, and he has a host of
warm friends in his adopted city.
OLIVER W. DUNLAP. Sound judg-
ment combined with fine ability in me-
chanical lines has enabled the subject of
this biography, a well-known resident of
Bloomington, to attain a substantial success
in life and his history is of especial interest.
Although comparatively a young man, he
has already attained a prominent place in
business circles and is now treasurer of the
Bloomington Pressed Brick Company.
Mr. Danlap was born in Bloomington
June 17, 1866, and is a son of Eleazer
Dunlap, who was born in Urbana, Cham-
paign county, Ohio, October 21, 1826, and
losing his father during his infancy, he was
reared by a Mr. Gregg, of Clinton county,
Indiana. During his early life the father of
our subject engaged in steamboating from
Cincinnati to New Orleans, and subsequent-
ly, in an official position, was connected
with a ferry at Cincinnati. There he mar-
ried Miss Lucinda Clark, of Dayton, Ken-
72
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tucky, a native of Ohio and a daughter of
Josiah Clark, at that time a resident of Day-
ton, Kentucky. About i860 Mr. and Mrs.
Dunlap removed to North Vernon, Indiana,
and in 1865 came to Bloomington, where
he was at first engaged in farming and in
the wood business in the southern part of
the city, remaining there until 1881. Dur-
ing the following five years he conducted a
grocery store at No. 106 South East street,
and in i888 embarked in the feed business
at No. 301 East Front street, carrying on
operations there for three years. In con-
nection with our subject, he formed the
Bloomington Pressed Brick Company in
1892, and since its incorporation he has
served as a director and vice-president.
For sixteen years he was an efficient mem-
ber of the school board, representing the
district in which he lived in the southern
part of the city. Socially, he has affiliated
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
for half a century, being at the present time
a member of Remembrance Lodge, and both
he and his wife are faithful members of the
Baptist church. In the family are three
children: Emily, Libbie and Oliver W.
After attending the public schools of his
native city for some time, Oliver W. Dun-
lap took a commercial course, and began
his business career in a brick yard, where
he learned the trade of brick making. At
the age of nineteen, he formed a partner-
ship with a Mr. Cannon, under the firm
name of Dunlap & Cannon, and engaged in
the manufacture of brick at the old estab-
lished yard of Heafer & McGregor, making
the common and hand-made paving brick
for six years. They met with well-deserved
success, their business steadily increasing
from the beginning until the partnership
was dissolved in 1892. With his father,
Mr. Dunlap had experimented with the clay
at their present location, and finding it suit-
able for their purpose, they put in operation
press brick works in 1892, their plant being
equipped with modern machinery for that
purpose. They were able to turn out a fine
quality of pressed brick, and in December,
1893, a company was incorporated under
the style of the Bloomington Pressed Brick
Company, with E. Dunlap as president,
Oliver \V. Dunlap as treasurer, and J. M.
Elder as secretary. The capital stock was
at first fifteen thousand dollars, and the
output after a year or two was two million,
five hundred thousand brick per annum, the
trade being largely local. In March, 1896,
the capital stock was increased to twenty-
five thousand dollars, and paving brick
machinery was added to the plant. They
also have steam dryers and down draft
kilns and other modern improvements for
brick making. The present capacity of the
plant is five million brick annually, and
their paving brick has been mostly sold in
Bloomington. It is one of the largest
plants of the kind in central Illinois; em-
ployment is furnished to from thirty to
thirty-five hands all the year round, and as
superintendent our subject has had charge
of the same from the start. He has in-
vented a machine which they use in their
own business and which is now sold from
coast to coast, having been patented both
in this country and in England. It is a
clay screen, which they manufacture quite
extensively, and is in itself an important
branch of their business.
On October 12, 1898, Mr. Dunlap was
united in marriage with Miss Maud Coates,
of Valparaiso, Indiana, a daughter of Dr.
H. C. Coates. They are members of the
Baptist church, and socially Mr. Dunlap
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
73
affiliates with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and Jesse Fell Lodge, Knights
of Pythias. As a business man he is enter-
prising, energetic and progressive, and the
success that he has achieved in life is due
to his own well-directed efforts.
RINALDO MINTON HALL, city editor
of the Daily Leader, of Bloomington,
and a prominent representative of the jour-
nalistic profession, is a native of McLean
county, born near Downs, January 28, 1870,
and is a son of Taylor Z. and Hannah
(O'Neil) Hall, who were born, reared and
married near Uniontown, Fayette county,
Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather
was Samuel Hall, who was born in 1798 at
Kennett Square, Chester county, Pennsyl-
vania, of Quaker parentage, he being a first
cousin of Bayard Taylor, the noted traveler
and author. Samuel Hall married Margaret
Kendall, who was born at Monroe, Fayette
county, Pennsylvania, in 1800. Her father
was a captain in the Revolutionary war and
served with honor and distinction. Samuel
Hall died at the age of sixty-four, while his
wife attained the age of ninety-one years.
The mother of Mrs. Taylor Hall was Eliza-
beth Crow, who lived to be eighty-five
years of age, while her father, Henry O'Neil,
lived to reach the four-score mark. They
were natives of Pennsylvania.
Soon after their marriage the parents
of our subject came to McLean county,
Illinois, and first located at Old Delta,
where the father became one of the leading
blacksmiths of the county at an early day.
On closing out that business, he purchased
a farm a mile and a half northwest of the
village of Downs, where he has since lived.
He extensively carried on operations as a
general farmer for a number of years, but is
now living retired upon his home farm of
one hundred and sixty acres, enjoying the
fruits of former toil. He has been a life-
long supporter of the Democracy, and one
of its most prominent and influential mem-
bers in Old Town township, but has always
refused political office. He has, however,
taken an active part in school affairs in his
district. Both he and his wife are faithful
members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and are deserving of the high regard in
which they are uniformly held. They have
reared a family of eight children, namely:
Josephine, now the wife of R. W. Cole, of
Leroy; Tobie, wife of George Bishop, of
West Point, Mississippi; Winnie, widow of
Arthur Messick, of Downs; Bunnie, who
died at the age of twenty-one years; Kate,
who is the widow of Charles Nelson and
resides at home; Richard, a grain dealer of
Downs; Rinaldo M., our subject, and Cal-
vin S., Jr.
Rinaldo M. Hall attended the grammar
and high schools of Downs, and for four
years was a student in the Illinois Wesleyan
University, where he took an active and
prominent part in literary and social affairs,
as a member of the Phi Gamma Delta and
Belle Lettres Societies. He took part in a
number of oratorical contests and ranked
high as a college orator. He pursued a
scientific course and gave special attention
to Latin. After leaving college he taught
for two years near Downs, and was then
offered a position to do local work on the
Daily Leader, with which he was connected
for a year and a half.
On the 20th of September, 1894, Mr.
Hall married Miss DeLila E. White, a
daughter of William R. White, whose sketch
appears elsewhere in thi§ volume. After
74
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
his marriage he purchased the Fisher Re-
porter, at Fisher, Champaign county, Illi-
nois, where he remained as editor and pro-
prietor of a good weekly paper until May,
1897, when he sold out and accepted a po-
sition to look after some of the many inter-
ests of Mr. White and returned to Bloom-
, ington. He was associated with his father-
in-law until May, 1898, when he received
several good offers, one of which was to do
special newspaper work at the Omaha Ex-
position. He also received an offer from a
Chicago daily to go to the front as war
correspondent, but not wishing to leave
home, he accepted neither of these. He
did, however, accept the position of city
editor of the Daily Leader, a Republican
evening daily, with which he is still con-
nected. He has received many compli-
ments from Republican leaders and mem-
bers of Congress for his effective work in
the interests of the party, for he bore an
important part in the campaign of 1898.
He is particularly fitted for his present re-
sponsible position by education and prac-
tical experience in all departments of news-
paper work. He has always been very
self-reliant and enterprising, and his inde-
pendence of spirit is shown by the fact that
while in college he arose regularly every
morning at four o'clock to distribute papers
to earn his pocket money, rather than ac-
cept it from his father, who is well-to-do.
These morning trips necessitated a walk of
five miles each morning before breakfast in
all kinds of weather. Mr. Hall is an ardent
Republican and the only one of his family
to support that party. Socially, he is a
member of Kickapoo Lodge, K. of P., at
Downs, of which he is a charter member,
and the Modern Woodmen, of Fisher,
Champaign county, Illinois, and did consid-
erable work in the degree teams. He is,
however, quite domestic in his tastes and
cares more for his home than outside fel-
lowship. Both he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Christian church, and they are
now building a beautiful home at the cor-
ner of Locust and McLean streets — the
finest residence district in the city.
HIRAM BAKER has for thirty years
been a resident of McLean county,
and is one of the most extensive land own-
ers of the state. With wonderful foresight
he discerned the future development and
advancement of Illinois, and on coming
h^^ at an early day his keen sagacity
pFom.pted him to largely invest in the rich
prairie land in the central section of the
state. Its rise in value has made him a
wealthy man, and his prosperity is certainly
well merited, for his business career has
been one of probity and integrity, and his
capable management and diligence are
justly crowned with success.
Mr. Baker is a native of the Empire
state. He was born in Troy, New York,
on the 27th of April, 1S18, a son of Benja-
min and Lucy (Ives) Baker. For many
years his father was a resident of Rensse-
laer county. New York, and there married
Miss Lucy Ives, who acquired her educa-
tion in that county. He carried on agri-
cultural pursuits, and not until late in life
did he leave the old home to become a resi-
dent of Peoria county, Illinois, where his
last days were passed. He held member-
ship in the Methodist Episcopal church.
To the public-school system of his
native county Hiram Baker is indebted for
the educational privileges he received, re-
TM^ NEW YOkK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LITNOX
TII.DEN FOUNDHTIONS
HIRAM BAKER.
MRS. HIRAM BAKER.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
, ASrov, Lr^nx
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
79
ceiving a good business education. He was
early inured to all the labors that fall to the
lot of the agriculturist, and assisted his
father in the cultivation of the home farm
until sixteen years of age. In 1837, in
company with his brother Benjamin, he
drove across the state to Buffalo, New
York, and there, putting the horse and
buggy on a boat, came by water to Detroit.
From that point they drove into the wild
and untraveled regions of Michigan, across
corduroy bridges and over new wagon roads
to Indiana, thence to Joliet, Illinois, and
on to Peoria, being three weeks and one
day upon the way. Peoria was then
scarcely more than a hamlet, and there
was no really good building in the place.
From that point Hiram Baker started out
on a prospecting tour, traveling over the
present site of the city of Galesburg to a
little place called South Cherry Grove, and
on to Farmington, where he remained for
about four years. During that time he pur-
chased town lots, built a residence and en-
gaged in lumbering and other business
interests. On the expiration of that period
he went to Charleston, Peoria county, now
called Brimfield, and opened up a farm of
one hundred and fifty acres. He erected a
house and began the development and im-
provement of his land, carrying on general
farming and stock raising. During that
time Peoria was his market for all supplies.
He lived upon that farm for seven years,
and in the meantime purchased more land,
devoting his energies entirely to agricul-
tural pursuits and land investments.
On the 1 6th of December, 1847, was
celebrated his marriage to Miss Sarah Fry,
a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter of
Benjamin and Sarah (Shafer) Fry, both of
whom were also natives of Pennsylvania.
Sarah Shafer was a daughter of Thomas
and Mary Shafer, who were born in Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania. Thomas
Shafer went into the Continental army
under General Washington at the age of
fourteen years, and served through the en-
tire war. He died at the age of ninety-
five years. Benjamin and Sarah Fry came
to Illinois in 1838, and settled near Peoria,
where he engaged in farming. They both
died at Hinsdale, Illinois, but were buried
at Peoria.
After his marriage Mr. Baker left the
farm and removed to Brimfield, but did not
sell his land, it being still in his possession.
While residing there he was induced to
hold theSj'nl.y .political office he has ever ac-
cepted, that of alderman. His time and
attention have been given entirely to his
farming interests and investments, and
while making his home in Peoria county he
became the owner of five hundred and fifty
acres on the west side of the river. He
also owned a section of land in Crawford
county, Iowa, but afterward traded it for
Iroquois county lands. In 1866 he re-
moved to Normal in order to provide his
children with better educational advantages,
and noting the richness of the alluvial soil
in this section of the state, he began buying
land here, and his holdings are among the
most extensive of any individual owner in
this locality. When he arrived in Illinois
he found many young men who had come
to seek a fortune in the west, discouraged
and disheartened, preparing to return to
the east. He told them that any one who
would stay and gain possession of land
would some day be well off. Time has
verified the truth of this statement, and al-
though Mr. Baker had a capital of only one
hundred dollars when he came to McLean
8o
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
county, he is now worth more than half a
million. He has made many judicious in-
vestments, continually adding to his prop-
erty interests. One of his first purchases
in central Illinois was a half-section in Ford
county. Later he bought another section,
and added to that until he now has fourteen
hundred and forty acres in Ford county of
as fine land as can be found in this entire
country, and all splendidly improved. He
never sells his land, but continually adds
to it, and now has two thousand acres in
McLean county, which is under a high state
of cultivation and yields to him a good in-
come. He has also given to his two chil-
dren property and money to the value of
sixty thousand dollars. He also haSiJarge
realty holdings in Iroquois couniy^^ijc^vfour
hundred and fifty-six acres of land in De-
witt county, on which there is not a hill or
a slough, all being rich rolling ground,
highly cultivatable. Lands in Henry coun-
ty that he purchased soon after his arrival
are also still in his possession, the aggre-
gate being nearly five thousand acres of the
finest land of Illinois. His judgment as to
land values is most sound and reliable, and
he has depended entirely upon his own opin-
ion in such matters.
Mr. Baker continued his residence in
Normal until May 14, 1885, when he pur-
chased a beautiful home on North Main
street, Bloomington, where he and his esti-
mable wife dispense a most cordial hospi-
tality to their many friends. They were
formerly members of the Baptist church.
Two children were born to them, but the
daughter, Hattie B., died December 17,
1898. She married George Champion, of
Normal, and at her death left four children,
Gertie B., George, Jr., Frank B. and Myr-
tle M. She was one of the foremost ladies
of Normal and was universally loved and
respected by all who knew her. She was a
friend to the poor and needy, and to all
who were in distress, and was a woman of
many excellencies of head and heart. The
son, Frank R. Baker, is now in the real-
estate business in Bloomington, where he
has a fine residence on Franklin square,
erected and given him by his father. He
married Miss Delia A. Shelton, and they
have two children: Fred R. , who is a mem-
ber of the graduating class of 1899 in
Williams College; and Beulah, who will
graduate from the high school of Bloom-
ington in June, 1899. In the spring of 1857
Mr. Baker gave one thousand dollars to
assist in building the old Chicago Univer-
sity, which was under the control of the
Baptist church. Owing to the hard times
the buildings were lost, but he has the sat-
isfaction of knowing that later the institu-
tion was aided in a most substantial manner
by John D. Rockefeller, and backed by him
to a successful issue. Mr. Baker was also
one of six gentlemen to build a Baptist
church in Brimfield, Illinois, which was
afterwards destroyed by fire.
Such is the life history of one whose
record is indeed creditable and worthy of
emulation. He came to the west deter-
mined to win success through honorable
effort and diligence, and his close applica-
tion to business, his keen discrimination and
his unabating energy have enabled him to
realize his hopes. He has commanded
uniform respect by his honorable methods,
and enjoys the regard of all with whom he
has been brought in contact. For thirty
years a resident of McLean county he is
numbered among her valued citizens, and
this work would be incomplete without the
record of his life.
THE !<£•*'< ^^^:^J^
PUBLIC LIBR^^^
FRANK BAKER.
MRS. FRANK BAKER.
THt MliW YOFiK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN 70UNDATiOnS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
85
JACOB SHOLTY. Among the many
beautiful rural homes of Dale township,
none is more pleasant than that of the sub-
ject of this sketch, who is one of the most
progressive and successful agriculturists of
his community. He was born in that town-
ship on the 2nd of April, 1863, and is a son
of Henry and Susan (Swinehart) Sholty.
The father is a native of Pennsylvania, but
when small he went to Ohio with his father,
and at the age of nineteen years came with
the family to Bloomington, Illinois. Soon
afterward the grandfather of our subject lo-
cated in Dale township, where he improved
a farm and continued to make his home un-
til his death. Henry Sholty remained on
the old homestead until after his father died,
but was married upon another farm which
he purchased in the same township, and
which has been his home almost continu-
ously since, though for the past few years he
has lived retired in Bloomington. Through
his own unaided efforts he has secured a
competence, and is now the owner of three
hundred and forty acres of valuable land in
Dale township. He is honored and re-
spected wherever known, and the success
that he has achieved in life is certainly well-
merited. His faithful wife died in 1898.
Of the four children born to this worthy
couple, our subject is the third in order of
birth. He was educated in the common
schools, and remained upon the home farm
with his father until he was married, June
13, 1886, to Miss Florence Staley, daugh-
ter of Andrew Staley, of Dale township.
The children born of this union are Henry,
Elmer, Clara, Fern and Ivan.
After his marriage, Mr. Sholty purchased
one hundred and twenty acres of rich and
arable land and embarked in general farm-
ing and stock raising on his own account.
As he has met with success in his chosen
calling, he has been enabled to extend the
boundaries of his farm from time to time
until it now includes two hundred and twen-
ty acres of excellent land, adding to the
original tract first twenty acres and later two
forty-acre tracts. This he has improved
with good and substantial buildings, includ-
ing a beautiful home built in 1896 in mod-
ern style of architecture and supplied with
all conveniences, so that it is one of the
most elegant country residences in the coun-
ty and would add to the beauty of any city.
In his political affiliations Mr. Sholty is a
■ -RepTiiblican and he has done much to ad-
vance the educational interests of his local-
. ity. whije Sei'vipg for two terms as school di-
rector' of his district. He and his wife hold
membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church and give liberally to its support.
ORA E. WHITE, manager of the S.
R. White Manufacturing Company of
Bloomington, is one of the most wide-awake
and enterprising business men of 'the city.
Here he was born November 17, 1872, a
son of Samuel R. White, whose sketch ap-
pears elsewhere in this volume, and in the
public and high schools of the city he ac-
quired his literary training. Later he en-
tered the St. Joe (Missouri) Business Col-
lege, who was conducted by his uncle, J.
B. Moore, and there he took a business
course and also one in drafting. To further
fit himself for his present business he spent
a year in an architect's office. With these
preparations he returned to Bloomington
and entered his father's factory. As he be-
came more and more conversant with the
business, he was gradually advanced to more
responsible positions until he became mana-
86
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ger of the large plant, having from thirty-
five to forty men working under him. Here
everything connected with house finishing is
manufactured, including doors, sash, blinds
and all kinds of wood work, it being one of
the largest factories of the kind in central
Illinois. In its management Mr. White has
displayed remarkable executive ability,
sound judgment and keen perception, and
the business has steadily increased in vol-
ume and importance until it is one of the
leading industries of the city. (A more ex-
tended mention of the business is given in
connection with his father's sketch.)
On the 1 2th of May, 1896, Mr. White
was united in marriage with Miss Minnette
Meredith, of Brook, Indiana, a daughter of
Rev. H. W. Meredith, a minister of the
United Brethren church. They now have
one son, Samuel R., named for his grandfa-
ther. The family have a pleasant home at
No. 304 East Douglas street, one of the
most beautiful resident districts of Bloom-
ington. Both Mr. and Mrs. White are mem-
bers of the First Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he is one of the ushers, and he is
also a member of the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association. He is popular in social,
as well as business circles, and has a host
of warm friends throughout the city.
JOHN H. NORRIS.— Prominent among
the influential business men of Normal
is the gentleman whose name introduces
this review, and who has been a resident
since receiving an honorable discharge from
the government, at the close of the Civil
war. He was born in Westchester county,
Pennsylvania, in 1833, and is a son of
Thomas and Mary Norris. The former was
an experienced horticulturist from whom
his son obtained his early knowledge and
experience, which enabled him to carry on
so successfully the business in which he is
at present engaged. The mother of our sub-
ject died when he was very young, and his
father married the second time, a lady who
did not assume the full responsibility of a
mother toward him, consequently he was
thrown on his own resources, battling with
life through the early vicissitudes of boy-
hood. In 1S48 he went to Chicago, and
shortly afterward to Aurora, where he re-
mained some time, going later to Granville,
Putnam county, Illinois, remaining until the
opening of the Civil war, when he enlisted
as a member of Company H, Twentieth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. In 1863 he
was captured and confined in Libby Prison,
being held as a prisoner of war until his ex-
change three months later, when he rejoined
his regiment at Vicksburg, and on the 22d
of July was wounded in the battle of Atlanta.
After a service of over four years, he re-
ceived his discharge papers in 1865, at
Springfield, Illinois.
Upon his return to civil life, he came di-
rect to Normal, and after a few years en-
gaged in his present business, horticulture.
His nurseries occupy a number of large
blocks, and he possesses besides several
business blocks, which he has not yet dis-
posed of for building purposes. His fruits
are widely known, and are in great demand
at all seasons, as he cultivates only the best
in quality and flavor. In 1865, Mr. Norris
was united in marriage to Sarah G. Henning,
a native of Pennsylvania, who was born in
1835, in Phcenixville, Chester county. Five
children have been born to them, two of
whom are living, Fannie B. and Kittie M.
For nearly one year the latter held the re-
sponsible position of librarian of Normal.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
87
The Norris family attend the Presbyterian
church, and are held in the highest esteem.
Mr. Norris is a prominent member of the
Grand Army of the Republic, and is a strong
believer in the principles of the Republican
party, to which he gives his support. At
the present time he is a member of the city
council, and fills the office in a very accept-
able manner. He is a public-spirited citi-
zen, and is much honored and respected by
his associates.
JOHN W. HAYES, president of the Co-
operative Stove Company, and one of
its original members, has through his own
exertions attained an honorable position
and marked prestige among the representa-
tive business men of Bloomington, and with
signal consistency it may be said that he is
the architect of his own fortune.
Mr. Hayes was born in County Water-
ford, Ireland, September 17, 1858, and is a
son of John and Bridget (Flynn) Hayes.
In 1862 he accompanied the family on their
emigration to the new world and located at
Bloomington, Illinois, where the father was
employed as a blacksmith in the Alton rail-
way shops until his retirement from active
labor, spending his last years in ease and
quiet. He died in 1874, leaving four chil-
dren, namely: Mrs. Mary Flynn, a resi-
dent of Bloomington; Patrick, of Denver,
Colorado; David, of Bloomington, where he
is engaged in the drug business; and John
W., of this review. The mother is still
living and is a devout member of Holy Trin-
ity Catholic Church, to which the father
also belonged.
In the public schools of Bloomington,
John W. Hayes acquired his education,
and on leaving school at the age of thirteen
years commenced the battle of life for him-
self in the employ of the Phoenix Nursery,
with which he was connected until nineteen.
He then served an apprenticeship of four
years to the molder's trade in the Bloom-
ington Stove Company's works and contin-
ued in their employ for eight years. He
was then active in organizing the Co-opera-
tive Stove Company in 1886, with a capital
of ten thousand dollars, which has twice
been increased since that time and is now
fifty thousand dollars. He was elected the
first president of the company and has since
filled that office, while A. C. Hamilton
serves as treasurer and manager, and C. A.
Hamilton as superintendent. They began
business in Normal on a small scale, doing
most of their work and acting as their own
salesmen. As their business steadily in-
creased, they found their plant at Normal
too small, and in 1892 they purchased what
is known as the Empire works on the Illi-
nois Central railroad. Here their main
building is three hundred by forty-two feet
and two stories in height and is built of
brick. It is occupied entirely by their
works, which have reached extensive pro-
portions, to meet the growing demands of
their trade. The members of the company
started out for themselves with a good prac-
tical knowledge of the business, and being
ambitious, industrious, persevering and en-
terprising, have been successful, and they
are now numbered among the leading busi-
ness men of the city.
On November 28, 1882, Mr. Hayes was
united in marriage with Miss Julia Fitzger-
ald, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, formerly of
Bloomington, a daughter of John Fitzger-
ald, who died when she was young. Of
the eight children born of this union, Julia
died December 23, 1896, at the age of
88
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
eight years and three months. Those still
living are Francis, Florence, Mona, Lewis,
Lauretta, Josephine and John. The family
resides at 105 Kelsey street, and they are
members of Holy Trinity Catholic church.
Politically, he has been a supporter of the
Republican party for the past fourteen
years, but has never been a politician in
the sense of office seeking. He has the re-
spect and confidence of his business associ-
ates, and is held in high regard by all who
know him.
WILLIAM F. SPREEN, a well-known
and popular engineer on the Chicago
& Alton Railroad residing in Bloomington,
has been a trusted employe of that company
since August, 1872. A native of Illinois,
he was born in Alton, July 18, 1S53, and is
a son of William and Christina (Wagenfield)
Spreen. The father was born in 1822, in
a village near Berlin, Germany, and was a
son of William Spreen, who owned and
operated a farm which had been in the fam-
ily for many years and is still owned by one
of his grandsons. There the father grew to
manhood, attending the schools of the
neighborhood, and during his youth he served
an apprenticeship to the cabinetmaker's
trade, which he followed in his native land
until his marriage. His wife was a native
of the same place, born in 1824, and was a
daughter of Franz Wagenfield, proprietor
of an inn and a very prominent man in that
locality. He was a distinguished officer in
the German army, serving with a rank cor-
responding to that of our major, and his
sons were also in the service. Mr. and Mrs.
Spreen were married March 23, 1847, with-
out the consent of her parents, and at once
sailed for the United States. Landing in
this country they proceeded at once to Al-
ton, Illinois, and had many hardships to en-
dure in making a home in the new world.
For a time the father worked at his trade
and later engaged in business as a contract-
or and builder, erecting many fine residences
in Alton and two large factories. At one
time when a business block was destroyed
by fire, he erected a temporary building one
hundred ten by forty-eight feet and two
stories in height in forty-eight hours, so
that business might be continued until more
substantial quarters could be established.
He became quite successful and prosperous
and since 1895 has lived retired, enjoying a
well-earned rest. In the First Baptist
church of Alton he and his wife hold mem-
bership, and they are held in high esteem
by all who know them. Twelve children
were born to them, six sons and six daugh-
ters, but five daughters died before they
reached the age of two years, and one son
at the age of twenty-two.
William F. Spreen was educated in the
second ward and high schools of Alton and
in early life worked with his father for a
short time. He then learned the machin-
ist's trade and soon took charge of an engine
and hydraulic pump in the castor oil mill of
Captain D. C. Adams. In 1872 he accepted
a position as fireman on the Chicago & Al-
ton Railroad, running from Alton east, and
in the fall of 1875 was promoted to what is
called hostler, running an extra train from
Alton. In the fall of 1876, he was called
to Bloomington to take a regular engine and
has been a resident of the city since. He
was in the freight service until 1888, when
he was promoted to the passenger service,
with which he is still connected. He was
on the night express for some time until the
limited was put on the road. He brought
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
89
it on its first trip out of St. Louis and has
run it ever since. He has been remarkably
fortunate in his railroad career, having never
had a serious accident, though twice he has
been compelled to jump from his engine in
order to save his life. He is widely and
favorably known in railroad circles; is a
member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers, in which he served for one term
as assistant engineer; and is also connected
with the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. i, of Al-
ton. He has built a fine home at No. 811
West Washington street, where hospitality
reigns supreme and the many friends of the
family are always sure of a hearty welcome.
On the 25th of December, 1877, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Spreen and
Miss Elizabeth Carter, of Alton, and to
them have been born three children: Wal-
ter William, who is a graduate of Brown's
Business College and now holds a position
with the drug firm of Fuller & Fuller, of
Chicago; Charles Carter and Mildred Chris-
tina, who is still attending school. Mrs.
Spreen is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church and the older son holds mem-
bership in the Christian church.
Mrs. Spreen was born, reared and edu-
cated in Alton, and is a daughter of Charles
and Elizabeth (Hunt) Carter. The father
was born in Northampton, Massachusetts,
in 1828, and was a son of Henry Carter, of
that place, while the mother was born in
Poughkeepsie, New York, and is a daugh-
ter of William Hunt, who belonged to an
old family of New York City and on com-
ing west located in Springfield, Illinois.
Charles Carter, Mrs. Spreen's father, was
reared in his native place and in the fall of
1 85 1 came to Illinois. The following year
he became connected with the Chicago &
Alton Railroad as conductor, and after serv-
ing in that capacity for some years was
made train master. He had charge of lay-
ing the track from Springfield to Blooming-
ton, and as a fuel agent sold wood from his
land to the road in early days when A. H.
Moore was superintendent. On account of
injuring his eyes, Mr. Carter had to give up
railroading and for a short time engaged in
farming at Shipman, Illinois. Selling his
property there, he moved to Springfield and
formed a partnership with a Mr. Hibbs, en-
gaging in merchant tailoring under the firm
name of Carter & Hibbs. During the Civil
war they made many uniforms and did an
excellent business. He spent his last days
in retirement from active labor and died
April 2, 1880. His wife is still living as
are also five of their children. Both held
membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church and have the respect and esteem of
all who knew them.
DAVID W. STANGER.— Among the
residents of McLean county, who by
their own efforts have raised themselves to
a position of prominence, and by honesty,
uprightness and good management have
reached a fair degree of prosperity, is the
gentleman whose name stands at the head
of this review. He comes of good German-
American stock, his ancestors being people
of considerable prominence and education.
His paternal grandfather emigrated to this
country, locating in West Virginia. He
was a great student and a man of much
natural ability, and received his education
in the best schools of Germany. He was a
graduate of colleges of medicine and theolo-
gy, and received the degree of Doctor of
Divinity. He was a minister in the German
Lutheran church, and a wonderfully elo-
90
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
quent speaker, being gifted beyond the
average man. John Stanger, Jr., the father
of our subject, was one of six children, and
moved from his home in West Virginia to
Indiana, in about 1820. He was the pro-
prietor of two hundred forty acres of land,
and was a well-to-do farmer, upright and
honorable in all his dealings. After the
death of his first wife he returned to his old
home, where he remained a few years, and
where he married a lady by whom he had
ten children. After his second marriage, he
returned to Indiana where he resided until
his death in 1S84. In his political convic-
tions he was a Democrat, and a strong ad-
herent to that party. Prior to her mar-
riage, the mother of our subject was Miss
Kattie Brownlow, of Tennessee, and is a
cousin of Parson Brownlow, of historic fame.
She died when our subject was thirty hours
old, and was the mother of six children.
David W. Stanger, the subject of this
review, was born in Monroe county, Indiana,
October 13, 1828, where he was reared and
educated, the greater portion of his time,
prior to his twenty-first year, in farming.
In 1849 he removed to McLean county,
Illinois, locating in Cheney's Grove. In
March, 1853, he took up one hundred sixty
acres of prairie land, upon which he built,
making all the necessary improvements,
and here he remained for six years, at the
end of that time going to California where
he spent one year, and the seven years fol-
lowing in the gold mines of Nevada. In
1879 he went to Oregon, where he spent
some time prospecting, and then returned to
Nevada to the aforementioned mines, until
1874, when he returned to Illinois, and has
since made this state his permanant home,
living a quiet and retired life at Normal.
On the i8th of February, 1877, Mr.
Stanger was married to Miss Nannie Duke,
a daughter of Polly and Joel Duke, and a
native of Kentucky, who was born Septem-
ber 16, 1838, and came to Illinois in 1866.
No little ones have come to bless this union,
and as home is dark without the light of
childhood, Mr. and Mrs. Stanger adopted a
little girl of one year who was born April
23, 1884. Our subject is a self-made man,
who has reached his present degree of pros-
perity by his own individual efforts. Polit-
ically, he is an advocate of high tariff, stand-
ing firmly upon the Republican platform.
He is a member of no particular church,
but believes in and practices those princi-
ples which the church teaches.
TOHN HAYNES, a retired farmer and
kJ carpenter, now residing in the city of
Normal, was born in Shropshire, England,
March 9, 1831, and is the son of William
and Ann (Baldwin) Haynes, both of whom
were also natives of England. William
Haynes was a cooper by trade and a good
mechanic. He was a worthy man, a mem-
ber of the church of England, a pew holder,
a free holder and a man of influence. His
counsel to his children, and especially to
John, was to keep good company or none,
for "evil communications corrupt good
morals." He died in 1839, at the age of
sixty-eight years. His wife died later in
life, and in a triumphant state of mind and
heart, bestowing on her children the bene-
dictions of God.
The genealogy and armorial designs of
the Haynes family runs back in Montgom-
eryshire, through Einion to Gwinn, Lord of
Guilsfield, son of Griffith ap Beli, descend-
ant of Brockwell Yschithrog, Prince of
Powys, who reigned in A. D. 607, over
JOHN HAYNES.
,V '(<J
l;K
ENOX
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
93
Powysland, Wales. Gen. James Haynes,
who captured the Isle of Jersey under Crom-
well, and was its governor in 1652, used
upon his seal attached to official papers the
same arms as the Shropshire and Mont-
gomeryshire family of Haynes. His crest
was the golden eagle displayed standing on
a tortoise. He used as a motto. " There
is no difficulty to him that wills." The
genealogy of the family is traced back for
fourteen generations, and is connected with
the first families of Wales with royal blood
in their veins. Credit for the above genea-
logy is due A. M. Haynes, of Galena, Illi-
nois.
William and Ann Haynes had born to
them seven children, five of whom are yet
living, viz.: Mrs. Margaret Edwards, Mrs.
Ann Icke, Mrs. Mary Cealey, Thomas and
John, the latter being the subject of this
sketch. He was the eldest son, and his
early training and education was received
in his native place. He was educated un-
der the supervision of the church of England,
with the New Testament as reader. He
completed his school life when eleven years
of age, and then hired out to a farmer for
two pounds (about ten dollars) and a pair
of shoes for one year's work, but the shoes
he never saw. After working on a farm
for five years and saving some money, he
bound himself to a carpenter and wheel-
wright until he was twenty years old. After
his time was served, he worked as a jour-
neyman for seven years, at one pound (five
dollars) per week.
In 1859, work being slack in his native
country, and seeing no prospect of speedy
improvement, Mr. Haynes turned his face
westward to that land where all men are
free and equal, and where man is liberally
remunerated for his labor. After a stormy
5
voyage of twenty days, he arrived in New
York, February 22, 1859, from which place
he went at once to Berlin, Wisconsin, thence
to Chicago, and from there to St. Louis.
Not finding employment, he went to Ivan-
sas, and from there to Independence, Mis-
souri, having traveled three thousand miles
before he was engaged as a mechanic.
While he was employed in Missouri, a short
distance from Independence, he unconscious-
ly became involved in the slavery question,
which caused him considerable trouble, and
nearly a flogging. One of his employer's
slaves being,ssked by a fellow workman if
sh^.'-^mmi^^reier slavery to freedom, re-
plied'tnait sWe' preferred freedom and stated
her reasons, to which Mr. Haynes said
Amen! This came to his employer's ears,
and a retraction was demanded of him, or
he should suffer a flogging. He was willing
to be flogged, but with his eyes open to the
evils of slavery he could not take back his
words. He had the courage of his convic-
tions and his employer saw it. He was
finally excused because of his ignorance of
the existing laws. This circumstance dis-
gusted him with the laws that sanctioned
human bondage and so he left Independence
for Illinois. However, he stopped for a
short time at Hannibal, Missouri, where he
worked at his trade, but here he again got
into trouble on the slavery question. On
Sunday he attended the Methodist Episco-
pal church, and on the next day he was
discharged, not because he went to church,
but because it was a Methodist Episcopal
church, North.
From this slavery-cursed state he hast-
ened, and was pleased to be located in a
pure atmosphere before John Brown left for
Harper's Ferry. In September, 1859, he
arirved at Normal and found employment on
94
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
the Normal School building at one dollar and
twenty-five cents per day and his board.
He worked on the building until February,
i860, but never received his wages, the con-
tractor drawing his money and skipping the
state. So for his fall and winter's work he
received only his board, and consequently
feels that he has an interest in the Illinois
State Normal School which is likely to last
his lifetime.
In the spring of i860, Mr. Haynes went
to Hudson, McLean county, where he rented
a small farm and there remained for two
years. During this early day there were no
fences to keep the stock within bounds, or
to keep them from wandering at will over
the prairie. Under these circumstances it
was necessary to confine the calf that the
dam might remain near by. On one occa-
sion Mr. Haynes lost a calf, thus losing that
attraction which would naturally keep the
parent cow at home. He therefore skinned
the dead calf, placing the skin on another
but strange calf, to induce the parent to
adopt it, which she did after a very critical
investigation. This is regarded as one of
the greatest impositions that was ever played
upon a poor, unsuspecting cow. On this
Hudson farm he raised good crops, and his
first load of grain he gave to the Kansas suf-
ferers. His brother Thomas was with him
at this time, and on the breaking out of
the civil war, in 1861, Thomas joined the
Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and
was with Sherman on his march to the sea.
The following year John Haynes also en-
listed, becoming a member of Company E,
Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
which was under the command of Colonel
McNulty, his company commander being
Captain Rowe. With his regiment he par-
ticipated in the battle of Springfield, Mis-
souri, siege of Vicksburg, and other engage-
ments of minor importance. On account
of his mechanical skill, he was the first win-
ter placed on detached duty. After the
siege of Vicksburg his command was sent to
Brownsville, Texas, by way of New Orleans,
and at the latter place he was discharged in
June, 1865.
On his return to civil life, Mr. Haynes
chose for himself a life companion in the
person of Mrs. Mary Dunseth, daughter of
Adam Henthorn, to whom he was wedded
in September, 1865. By this union there
were two children born, Nettie A., born
September 5, 1866, and an infant died un-
named, born in 1869. Mrs. Mary Haynes
was a native of Hudson township, McLean
county, and died in September, 1869. For
his second wife, Mr. Haynes married Mrs.
Eliza Myers, nee Rowe, a native of Picka-
way county, Ohio, born August 3, 1830.
They were married December 14, 1869, and
by this union there were born three chil-
dren: Cora A., now deceased, October 9,
1870; Emma S., October 17, 1872; and
JohnF. , January 4, 1876.
In 1876 Mr. Haynes purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land, near Hudson,
upon which he resided nine years, engaged
successfully in farming and stock raising.
In 1883, he purchased another farm of eighty
acres, which like the first, was under im-
provement. He still owns the two farms,
as well as much valuable property in the
city of Normal, where he is now comfort-
ably situated in the evening of life. He and
his family are consistent members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. He was con-
verted in England in 1854, and has been
identified with the church ever since. He
has held the office of trustee and class leader
since 1865, and has been a faithful and
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
95
efficient member of the Sunday-school for
many years, a teacher of the Bible class,
for which he has received a diploma each
year for the past five years from the Loyal
Sunday-school Department of Illinois.
In politics Mr. Haynes is a Republican,
and has held the offices of school director,
road commissioner, and other minor local
offices to the satisfaction of his constituents.
He is truly a self-made man, and through
all his varied experiences he has never lost
sight of that hand that guides the world and
moves the hearts of men. Looking back
on his past life, he can thus say with the
poet: "Thus far the Lord hath led me
on; thus far his power prolongs my days."
GEORGE ALFORD STRINGFIELD,
the well- known proprietor of the String-
field Music House of Bloomington, is a true
type of western progress and enterprise. His
intellectual energy, prudent business methods
and reliable sagacity have all combined to
make him one of the ablest business men of
the city.
Mr. Stringfield is a native of McLean
county, born on a farm two miles southeast
of Randolph, July 6, 1862, and he is a rep-
resentative of an honored pioneer family of
the state and county. His grandfather,
Alfred M. Stringfield, was born in Hunts-
ville, Alabama, October 14, 1809, and when
a lad of nine years came to Illinois with his
father, John Stringfield, stopping first in
White county, and later locating near Spring-
field, in Sangamon county, where his father
died only nine days after his arrival there.
He left his family without a home or any
means of support, as he had lost all his
money in the south by going security for
others, and had come north with the hope
of retrieving his lost possessions. After the
father's death the family came to Randolph
Grove, McLean county, and located on the
farm now owned by Dr. Stewart, which was
entered by the grandfather of our subject in
his mother's name. The family went to Jo
Daviess county, where he worked in the
lead mines to earn the money to enter his
land, and there his mother died. After
securing the needed amount they all re-
turned to McLean county, and the grand-
father turned his attention to the improve-
ment and cultivation of his land. He fol-
lowed general farming throughout life, and
met with well-deserved success, owning at
one time over four hundred acres of valua-
ble land in this county. On the 25th of
March, 1832, he married Miss Amelia T.
Hand, of Randolph Grove, a daughter of
George C. Hand, who came here from Ohio,
but had previously lived in Pennsylvania.
Of the ten children born of this union,
eight reached years of maturity. The
parents were both active and prominent
members of the pioneer Methodist Episcopal
church of this region, and Mr. Stringfield
served as class leader and steward and filled
other church offices. The father of our
subject can well remember the early camp-
meetings held near their home, when the
little dwelling was filled with all that could
could be accommodated at night in the beds
and on the floor. The grandfather was
quite a prominent and influential man of his
community, and was called upon to fill
several township offices, including those of
supervisor and justice of the peace. He
died June 15, 1895, and his wife passed
away September 6, 1885.
Jesse F. Stringfield, father of our sub-
ject, was born in Randolph Grove, this
96
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
county, September 26, 1835, was reared on
the home farm and educated in the common
schools of the neighborhood. He was mar-
ried in 1 861, to Miss Mary F. Land, who
died in the latter part of 1862, leaving one
son, George A., of this review. She was
also a native of Randolph township, and a
daughter of George W. Land, originally
from Kentucky. Mr. Stringfield has never
again married. In 1862 he took a part of
his father's farm and throughout his active
business life was engaged in agricultural
pursuits. After the death of his wife he re-
turned to his father's home and for many
years they were in partnership in their farm-
ing operations. In later years he had en-
tire charge of the business and still owns a
part of the old homestead, but for the past
four years has lived retired from active labor,
making his home with his son in Blooming-
ton. He is a faithful member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, in which he has
served as steward and trustee for many
years, and by his upright, honorable life he
has gained the confidence and respect of all
with whom he has come in contact.
The early education of George A. String-
field was acquired in the public schools of
McLean county, and in the fall of 1881 he
entered the Illinois Wesleyan University,
where he pursued his studies for one year.
As his mother died when he was only two
months old, he was reared in his grandfa-
ther's home, and after leaving school he en-
gaged in farming with his father on the old
homestead until 1889. In the spring of
1889, he was elected justice of the peace
for Randolph township and filled that office
for four years. In the meantime he had
acquired a taste for the real estate business
and displayed considerable ability along that
line, and on coming to Bloomington, in
1889, he opened an office and for several
years devoted his entire time and attention
to the real estate and insurance business,
meeting with marked success. He handled
a large amount of real estate, mostly for
himself, and dealt chiefly in farming land,
not only in this county but elsewhere in the
state and also in adjoining states. He has
owned a great many hundred acres, and still
has fifteen hundred acres. He is yet inter-
ested in the real estate business, which he
carried on exclusively until October, 1894,
when he became connected with the old J.
T. Adams Music House. Later he took full
control of the business and removed to his
present elegant room at No. 528 Hoblit
Buildings, being the first tenant in the same.
Here he carries a full line of musical mer-
chandise, pianos, etc., having the largest
and best selected stock of the kind in the
city, and employment is furnished to four
people. Besides the business already men-
tioned Mr. Stringfield conducts a farm of
eight hundred acres, on which he employs
a number of men to do general farming.
On the 25th of November, 1891, Mr.
Stringfield was united in marriage with Miss
Lovisa A. Thomas, a daughter of W. D.
Thomas, deceased, of South Charleston,
Ohio. One child blesses this union, Aleta
May. Mr. and Mrs. Stringfield are both
active and prominent members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, with which he has
been connected for thirteen years, and has
served as superintendent of the Sunday-
school and a member of the board. He is
a Democrat in politics but not an advocate
of the free coinage of silver, at a ratio of
sixteen to one. Courteous, genial, well-in-
formed, alert and enterprising, he stands
to-day one of the leading representative men
of the city.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD,
97
AARON P. RHODES. The world in-
stinctively pays deference to the man
whose success has been worthily achieved
and one who has gained a high reputation
in his chosen calling. Through his own
well-directed efforts, Mr. Rhodes has be-
come one of the most prosperous, as well
as one of the most extensive farmers, and
stock raisers of McLean county. He has
made good use of his opportunities, has con-
ducted all business matters carefully and
successfully and in all his acts displays an
aptitude for successful management.
This well-known agriculturist of Bloom-
ington township is a native of McLean
county, his birth occurring in the township
where he still lives, on the 1 8th of April,
1834. His parents, John H. S. and Mary
(Johnson) Rhodes, are presented on another
page of this volume. During his boyhood
and youth he attended the common schools,
and became familiar with all the duties
which fall to the lot of the agriculturist,
aiding his father in the work of the home
farm until 1859, when he entered Eureka
College and took an elective course.
At the breaking out of the Civil war,
Mr. Rhodes offered his services to the
country, enlisting in May, 1861, in Com-
pany G, Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer In-
fantry, which was first sent to Missouri
under General Prentice. They went down
the Mississippi river to Bird's Point, and
later met the enemy at Cape Girardeau,
Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, where en-
gagements were brought on. On the expi-
ration of his three months' term, our subject
re-enlisted in the same company and regi-
ment, and later participated in the battles
of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Mem-
phis, Vicksburg, Jackson and Black river.
Jlis firgt engagement was at Fredericksburg,
and he later took part in all of the battles
and skirmishes in which his regiment was
engaged. He was mustered out at Spring-
field, Illinois, late in the year 1864 and re-
turned home with a war record of which he
may be justly proud.
Mr. Rhodes then located on a tract of
ninety acres of land given him by his father,
who owned twenty-one hundred acres in
Bloomington township, and upon that place
he still resides, having built in 1875 what is
considered the best country home in the
township. It is surrounded by a beautiful
lawn and in all its appointments is a most
attractive place. Mr. Rhodes began his
business career as a dealer in mules, for
twelve years buying, feeding and shipping
mules quite extensively, and he found the
business quite remunerative until 1877.
During this time he kept adding to his farm
from time to time and also became inter-
ested in cattle and hogs as a feeder and
dealer, and in heavy draft horses as an im-
porter and breeder, always keeping about
fifty head and selling the same when three
or four years old. Of more recent years he
has lived rather retired, and now rents all
of his land with the exception of twenty-five
acres. So prosperous has he been, that he
now is the owner of ten hundred and fifty
acres of land in Bloomington township, and
has large tracts of land in the west. He is
also a heavy stockholder in the Third Na-
tional Bank at Bloomington, and has been
offered a directorship but declined. He was
one of the first stockholders, buying his stock
at first for one dollar and eight cents, but
for his last he paid two dollars and ten cents,
so valuable has it become.
Mr. Rhodes first married Miss Mattie M.
Cox, of Bloomington, a daughter of David
Cox, a farmer of his neighborhood, who
98
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
came to McLean county as early as 1826.
They were married November 21, 1864, and
she died in February, 1876, leaving two chil-
dren: Edward is a graduate of the Bloom-
ington high schools, has also attended the
college at Valparaiso, Indiana, and spent
four years at the State University at Cham-
paign, graduating from the law department;
and Ora M., after graduating at Normal,
took a four-years course at Champaign,
where he was granted the degree of A. B.,
and is now a student at the College of Phy-
sicians and Surgeons, of Chicago. He grad-
uated from the Military School at Cham-
paign, and now holds a commission as cap-
tain in the regular army, but was not called
into service during the Spanish-American
war. On the 9th of November, 1882, Mr.
Rhodes married Miss Charlotte Reid, of
Champaign county, Ohio, where her father,
Robert Reid, was a farmer. They both
died in McLean county — he in 1892 — she in
1895. Mrs. Rhodes taught school for twelve
years in Ohio, and after coming to McLean
county, taught for four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes attend the Chris-
tian church and are numbered among the
most prominent and highly esteemed citi-
zens of this community. He casts his bal-
lot with the Republican party, has served
as supervisor of Bloomington township, and
was highway commissioner for seven years.
He has also served as township school trus-
tee and school director of his district, and
has ever taken a deep and commendable in-
terest in education affairs, giving his sons
the very best of opportunities along that line.
He is a man of more than ordinary ability
and force of character and by his industry,
close attention to business and sound judg-
ment he has acquired a handsome compe-
tence, which now enables him to practical-
ly live retired. His pleasant, genial man-
ner, which combined with his sterling worth,
makes him one of the popular citizens of
his native county.
REV. STANLEY A. McKAY, D. D., is
a man whose whole life has been de-
voted to the work of the ministry, and he is
now the beloved pastor of the First Baptist
church of Bloomington, with which he has
been identified for the past three years.
He was born in Mansfield, Cattaraugus
county. New York, September 11, 1850, a
son of Hiram V. R. and Tryphena L. (Ful-
ler) McKay. The father was born in Attica,
New York, March 5, 1822, but early in life
removed to Cattaraugus county with his fa-
ther, Silas McKay, a pioneer of that region,
who opened up one of the best farms in the
central part of the county. The grandfa-
ther of our subject was quite a prominent
man in his community, was captain of a mi-
litia company and was known as Captain
Silas McKay. His great-grandfather, Alex-
ander McKay, came to this country from
Scotland. On the maternal side our subject
is a direct descendant of Roger Williams,
his mother's grandmother being a Miss Will-
iams. All of his ancestors came to America
prior to the Revolutionary war, several of
whom served in the Continental army,
which fact makes the Doctor eligible to mem-
bership in the Sons of the Revolution. Hi-
ram V. R. McKay, the Doctor's father, is
the seventh in order of birth in a family of
ten sons, of whom nine lived until the
youngest was sixty years old. He engaged
in farming first at Mansfield, New York,
then carried on the same occupation at
Salamanca, but most of his life has been
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
99
passed in Little Valley, though he now lives
in Ellicottville, New York. At an early day
he was a strong abolitionist, and as a "con-
ductor" on the " underground railroad " he
assisted more than one slave on his way to
Canada and freedom. He has been a firm
supporter of the Republican party since its
organization, and filled the office of justice
of the peace for a number of years. He is
a sincere Christian man, was a member of a
Freewill Baptist church during its existence,
served as deacon and clerk in the same for
twenty years. His wife, who departed this life
December 3, 1879, was a faithful member of
the same church, and was a lady of marked
intelligence and energy of character. She
was one of the pioneer school teachers of
Cattaraugus county, New York, where at
the age of seventeen years she opened a
school in a lumber camp. The school room
was only fifteen feet wide, with seats of
shingle blocks, and when school opened
there was but one book, a frayed and worn
New Testament, in the entire school. The
book equipment was later greatly enlarged
by an edition of an old English reader and
a part of Cobb's speller. She taught there
for a number of years. She was born in
Elba, New York, and was a daughter of Cy-
rus W. Fuller, who opened up a farm in
what is now a portion of the village of Little
Valley, Cattaraugus county. She was the
mother of two children: Stanley A., of
this sketch; and Flora L. , who died in Min-
nesota, May 23, 1893.
Dr. McKay began his education in the
common schools of Little Valley, and later
entered Chamberlain Institute at Randolph,
New York, but finished his preparation for
college at Ten Broeck Free Academy, Frank-
linville, that state. In 1874 he became a
Student in the University of Rochester, where
he was graduated with the degree of A. B.,
in 1878. He then pursued a three-years
course in the Rochester Theological Semin-
ary, and immediately after leaving school
in the spring of 1881, he took charge of a
small church at Lyons, New York, with a
membership of sixteen, twelve of these be-
ing active members. He was ordained July
13, 1 88 1. During his theological course his
mother and both his wife's parents died.
December 29, 1879, he was married to Miss
Helens. Crandall, a daughter of P. M. Cran-
dall, an attorney of Rochester, New York.
Dr. McKay remained in Lyons until
January, 1887, and built up the congrega-
tion, taking into the membership one hun-
dred and twenty-five members. He went
there as a mission pastor, but left it self-
supporting and free from debt and with an
endowment of five thousand dollars. He
bought a good parsonage and also enlarged
the church edifice. His next charge was a
church of two hundred thirty members at
Canandaigua, New York, and it proved a
pleasant pastorate. During the two years
and a half he spent there he removed the
indebtedness of forty-one hundred dollars,
and ninety persons were received into the
church, mostly by baptism. While there,
he was for one year president of the Gene-
see Baptist Ministers Conference, which held
its regular monthly meetings at the Theo-
logical Seminary in Rochester. Dr. McKay
was next called to Owatonna, Minnesota,
where the late George Pillsbury was erect-
ing new buildings for the institute now known
as Pillsbury Academy, to which he made
large endowments. For two years during
his residence there our subject lectured at
that school on Old Testament history. He
also had charge of a Baptist church, which
at first numbered only one hundred and
872171
lOO
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ninety members, but under his pastorate two
hundred and ten were added to the church.
A new edifice was erected at a cost of twen-
ty-four thousand dollars, of which twenty
thousand dollars was raised for the building
proper. Dr. McKay next accepted a call
to the First Baptist church of La Crosse,
Wisconsin, where his work was chiefly in
reconstructing the church and placing a fine
new pipe organ in the same, these repairs
amounting to sixty-five hundred dollars.
During the summer of 1896 he was engaged
as supply of a church at Wauwatosa, a sub-
urb of Milwaukee, and on the ist of Sep-
tember, 1896, received a call from the First
Baptist church of Bloomington, with which
he has since been connected. It is a strong
church and one of the oldest in the city.
Its membership is now eight hundred and
twenty-nine. During his ministry here Dr.
McKay has removed an indebtedness of
seven thousand six hundred dollars that has
hung over this church for years, and he has
thus given to the church new life. He is a
zealous and active worker in the cause of
the Master and is greatly beloved by all who
know him, those outside of his own congre-
gation as well as those within. During his
residence in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illi-
nois, he has been a member of the Baptist
State Board of Missions, and at present is
a member of the executive committee for
Illinois. He is also a trustee of Shurtliff
College, which institution conferred the hon-
orary degree of D. D. upon him in 1898,
and elected him a trustee at the same time.
For nine years he was chaplain of the New
York State Grange, an organization which
is now the most powerful of its kind in the
world and has a membership of eighty thou-
sand in that state. In the west his church
work has absorbed all his time. He is one
of the working members of the College-
Alumni Club and is one of the executive
committee.
ASA HARVEY MOORE is now living a
retired life in Bloomington, but it
would be difficult to find any individual who
has been more actively, prominently and
honorably connected with the industrial
and commercial interests of the city and
state through a longer period than has the
subject of this review. His success in life
has been most marked, yet it is but the log-
ical result of well directed efforts. If those
who claim that fortune has favored cer-
tain individuals above others will but inves-
tigate the cause of success and failure, it
will be found that the former is largely due
to the wise improvement of opportunity, the
latter to the neglect of it. Fortunate en-
vironment encompasses nearly every 'man
at some stage in his career, but the strong
man and the successful man is he who real-
izes that the proper moment has come, that
the present and not the future holds his op-
portunity. The man who makes use of the
Now and not the To Be is he who passes
on the highway of life others who started
out ahead of him, and reaches the goal far
in advance of them. It is this quality in
Mr. Moore that has made him a leader in
the business world and won him a name in
connection with industrial and railroad in-
terets that is known throughout the state.
He was born in Rutland, Worcester
county, Massachusetts, October 28, 1820,
and is a son of Asa and Sabra (Lover) Moore.
The father was born and reared in Royal-
ston, Massachusetts, and became a contract-
or, builder and real estate dealer. His wife
was also a native of Royalston, where they
-3R JH CKtCAGD
A. H. Moore.
THE NEW YORK
PUBUC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
103
resided for some years after their marriage
and then removed to Rutland. Later they
went to Princeton, but the father died at
the home of a daughter in Oakham, aged
eighty-three years. They were members of
the Presbyterian church and had a family of
two sons and three daughters.
Asa H. Moore attended the public schools
of Rutland and a boarding school at Worces-
ter, Massachusetts, after which he entered
upon his business career as an employe of the
Boston & Worcester Railroad Company in
their freight house at Grafton. Before the
completion of the Boston and Albany road,
he entered the employ of that company.
Major George W. Whistler, the civil engin-
eer in charge of the construction, wished to
get from Worcester to Springfield, but at
that time there had been no passenger train
over the road. S. P. Lee, the manager, re-
quested Mr. Moore to take the Major to
Springfield; they started at nine P. M. on
their run of sixty miles, arriving at their
destination at midnight, and thus Mr. Moore
was conductor of the first passenger train on
that line. Later he was conductor on a
train running from Boston to Springfield for
five years, and when the Old Colony Rail-
road was built from Boston to Plymouth, he
he was induced to join the latter road by a
friend who was superintendent. His con-
nection therewith continued five years, dur-
ing which time Daniel Webster was often
one of the passengers. After a vacation of a
year he was induced to go to Laporte, Indi-
ana, on the Michigan Southern Railroad,
and was given the position of assistant super-
intendent in the year in which the road
was opened. He had charge of the division
from Chicago to White Pigeon, Michigan,
and of the shops at Laporte, continuing in
that position until 1854, during which time
many improvements were made on the road
and in connection with the administration
of its business affairs. In 1854 he left La-
porte, owing to the persuasion of George
Bliss, of Springfield, a director of the Michi-
gan Southern, who was also interested in
the Chicago and Mississippi road. The
following morning he assumed his duties
under the title of train master. The com-
pany with which he was now connected had
run the second train from Joliet to this city.
The line extended from Joliet to Alton, and
the road was built by Henry Dwight, a New
York capitalist, who lost his fortune in this
venture. After a year R. P. Morgan, Mr.
Moore's superior officer, resigned, and the
latter was appointed general superintendent
by Mr. Dwight, of what is now the Chicago &
Alton road. When Mr. Dwight failed, ow-
ing all the employes and many others. Gov-
ernor Matteson, who was a large creditor,
was elected president, and under his admin-
istration and during the superintendency of
Mr. Moore the road was completed from Jol-
iet to Chicago, and from Alton to East St.
Louis, thus affording good terminals. T.
B. Blackstone, who is now president of the
road, was then the civil engineer, and run
the line from Joliet to Chicago. Under his
direction this road has gained its present
high standing and reliability. Mr. Moore
continued as general superintendent until
about the time it passed from the hands of
Governor Matteson in 1859.
In the meantime he had made extensive
investments in Bloomington real estate,
which was rapidly increasing in value, and
at the time he resigned he also owned three
lumber yards, located in Shirley, McLean
and Bloomington. He also located the
Shirley and McLean stations on the Alton
line, and in that vicinity owns considerable
I04
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
land. He has prospered in his lumber and
real estate business, his sound judgment
enabling him to make judicious investments
which have brought him excellent financial
returns. At one time he owned the ground
upon which the new Coliseum now stands.
After a time he largely sold his property
outside the city and invested his capital in
various enterprises here. In 1869 he pur-
chased the street car line, extending from
Grove street to Normal, and conducted un-
der the name of the Bloomington & Normal
Horse Railway Company. He extended the
line to the railroad depot, built the Chest-
nut street branch, the West Washington
street branch to the Union depot, the East
Front street branch crossing the Illinois
Central Railroad at Towanda avenue, and
had the franchise to build to Miller street
and the ties and iron to be used in the con-
struction thereof, when he sold the entire
line to John Graham, having in the mean-
time increased the length of the line from
two and a half to nearly nine miles.
For many years Mr. Moore continued to
be one of the most extensive real estate
dealers in the city. In the days of state
banks he was president of the Bank of
Bloomington, which was started with fifty
thousand dollars in bonds of the state of
Illinios. He was one of the incorporators
and the first president, but later sold his in-
terest to Isaac Funk, and the bank is still
conducted under the name of the First Na-
tional. In politics he has always been a
Republican, but has had neither time nor
inclination for public office.
In May, 1848, Mr. Moore married Miss
Nancy B. Washburne, of Plymouth, Mass-
achusetts, a direct descendant of Governor
Bradford, who came over in the Mayflower,
and a daughter of John Washburne. For
fifty years they have traveled life's journey
together and in 1898 celebrated their golden
wedding. They had two children. Thomas,
who was born in 1856, was burned in the
Chattanooga Hotel, in 1888; and Mary is
now the wife of Edward E. Maxwell, of
Chicago, by whom she has one child, Au-
gustus Moore. Mr. Maxwell is manager of
the large wall paper establishment of S. A.
Maxwell & Company. Mr. and Mrs. Moore
have one of the most pleasant homes in the
city. It is situated on North Main street
and is surrounded by a large lawn of two
and a half acres. The name of Mr. Moore
is inseparably connected with the develop-
ment of Bloomington and this section of the
state. His business interests have not only
been of individual benefit but have pro-
moted the general prosperity. Years of
ceaseless activity in the industrial world
have brought him wealth, and now in his
declining days he is enjoying the well-earned
fruits of his former toil.
JOHN B. LENNON.— There are in eVery
community men of great force of char-
acter and exceptional ability who, by reason
of their capacity for leadership, become
recognized as foremost citizens, and bear a
most important part in the development
and progress of their own locality or the
state and nation. Such a man is Mr. Len-
non, the well-known secretary of the Jour-
neymen Tailors' Union of America and the
treasurer of the American Federation of
Labor.
Mr. Lennon was born in White Oak
Springs, Lafayette county, Wisconsin, Oc-
tober 12, 1849, a son of John Alexander
and Elizabeth Fletcher (Brown) Lennon.
The ancestral home of the Lennon family
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
105
was near Manchester, England, and there
our subject's grandfather, James Lennon, a
machine woodworker, spent his entire life.
The father was born at Manchester, Octo-
ber 30, 1 8 17, and learned the tailor's trade
as an apprentice in London. At the age of
nineteen he came to the United States, and
after spending a year in New York City,
went to Buffalo, remaining there a short
time. He then came to Illinois, stopping at
Chicago in 1839 when the western metrop-
olis was a small hamlet on a wet prairie, and
in 1840 he located in Warsaw, this state,
though he worked at his trade in Keokuk,
Iowa, much of the time. In Warsaw he was
married, in September, 1844, and continued
to work as a journeyman in that locality
until 1845, when he went to the lead mines
of Wisconsin. He was engaged in lead
mining there until 185 1, in which year he
removed to Hannibal, Missouri, making his
home there until the breaking out of the
Civil war. Being a strong abolitionist and
Union man, he enlisted in Company I,
Third Missouri Cavalry, which was assigned
to the Army of the West. He participated
in the siege of Vicksburg and in the Arkan-
sas and Red river expeditions, and when
mustered out at the end of the war was
serving as iirst major of his regiment. He
was in active service during the entire time
with the exception of about thirty days
when suffering from a wound. Returning
to Hannibal, Missouri, he engaged in mer-
chant tailoring at that place until 1870,
when he removed to Denver, Colorado, and
continued the same business there. He
took great interest in the State Soldiers'
Home in that state, was the prime mover
in building it, and when it was completed,
in recognition of his effective work he was
appointed its first commander by the gov-
ernor. He resigned the position at the end
of four years on account of advancing age,
but he still continued to do merchant tailor-
ing, having the leading business in his line
in Denver. He was one of its best known
citizens and one of the most prominent old
soldiers in the state. He served as com-
mander of the State Post and chairman of
the relief work in Denver for twenty years,
was an active member of the Masonic fra-
ternity for fifty-three years, and was an
active and influential member of the Re-
publican party. He died in September,
1897, honored and respected by all who
knew him. He left four children, namely:
Mary Elizabeth, wife of Theodore Hutch-
inson, of Colorado; John B., our subject;
Minnie, wife of Frank Van Horn, of Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania; and Kate, wife of
Dr. W. H. Sharpley, of Denver. The mother
is also a resident of Denver, and is a faith-
ful member of the Congregational church,
both parents having united with that de-
nomination about 1848, and the father
served as deacon from 1872 until his death.
Mrs. Lennon was born February 4, 1823,
and is the youngest child of her father
by his second wife. She is one of only
about twelve daughters of Revolutionary
soldiers now living, and is a member of the
Daughters of the American Revolution.
Her father. Lieutenant Samuel Brown,
fought at the battles of Bunker Hill, Lex-
ington and Quebec, and was taken prisoner
at the last named place. After his ex-
change he served on the staff of General
Lafayette. The Brown family was founded
in Massachusetts by Nicholas Brown about
1631, and there Lieutenant Brown made
his home until 1794. when he emigrated to
Ohio, becoming one of the very early pio-
neers of St. Clairsville, Belmont county,
io6
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
where he died in 1828. Mrs. Lennon was
born there.
John B. Lennon was but two years old
when he accompanied his parents on their
removal to Hannibal, Missouri, and as that
was a slave state at that time public schools
were very few and his education was there-
fore limited. Before he was eleven years
of age he began to learn the tailor's trade,
working five or six months until his father
entered the army. During the war the
family removed to the little town of Payson,
Adams county, Illinois, where he attended
school during the winter and assisted in the
farm work through the summer season.
After the return of the father, the family
again went to Hannibal, where our subject
worked at his trade and attended school
occasionally until eighteen years of age.
He then entered a commercial college at
Oberlin, Ohio, where he pursued his studies
for seven months, which ended his school
days.
Subsequently Mr. Lennon worked at his
trade in Hannibal and Denver, and on the
5th of April, 1871, he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Juna J. Allen, a daughter
of Frederick C. Allen, of the former city.
They now have one son, John Frederick.
For three years they made their home in
Denver, and then removed to Evanston,
Wyoming, where Mr. Lennon engaged in
merchant tailoring for a time. Returning
to Denver, he worked as a journeyman in
that city, and in February, 1871, he joined
the Tailors Union on its organization in
that city, since which time he has been one
of its most active and prominent workers.
In the fall of 1883 the present International
Tailors Union was organized by five local
unions, all of which were in eastern cities,
and the Denver union affiliated with them
in a convention held in Chicago in 1884,
our subject serving as a delegate. He was
elected a member of the general executive
board, and when a delegate to the conven-
tion held in Baltimore in 1885, he was re-
elected to that position. In 1886 at the
convention held in New York City, it was
decided to elect a general secretary who
should devote his entire time to the service
of the organization and be paid a salary,
and Mr. Lennon was chosen for that respon-
sible position, which he has since so credit-
ably and satisfactorily filled, being re-elect-
ed at each succeeding election. At the
convention of 1886 it was also decided to
establish a paper devoted to the interests
of the organization of the craft, the general
secretary to be editor and manager, and in
October of that year the paper made its
first appearance, since which time it has
been issued monthly and its circulation now
reaches twenty thousand, it being taken in
all the principal cities and towns in the
United States and Canada.
When Mr. Lennon assumed the secre-
taryship of the Journeyman Tailors' Union
of America it consisted of only fourteen
local branches with twenty-four hundred
members, but at present it represents two
hundred and seventy-five local branches and
sixteen thousand and five hundred members,
which shows the large amount of work that
has been done. The income of the organi-
zation the first year he was secretary
amounted to only three thousand dollars,
but that of the year ending July i, 1898, was
one hundred and twenty thousand. The
tailors' organization, as a part of the great
American labor movement, joined what is
known as the American Federation of Labor,
a federation of all the national and interna-
tional trade unions of North America, and to
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
107
all the annual conventions of that body Mr.
Lennon has been a delegate, representing
the tailors' organization since 1 887. In 1 888,
he was elected treasurer of the federation
and a member of the executive council, and
has been annually re-elected to the same
positions.
When elected general secretary of the
Tailors' Union, Mr. Lennon moved from
Denver to New York City, which remained
headquarters and his residence until January
I, 1895, when the headquarters were
changed to Bloomington, Illinois, and he
came here to live. He has always taken an
active part not only in the labor movements
but in social reforms of all kinds that would
benefit the people. In his capacity of gen-
eral secretary of the Tailors' Union, he has
traveled through every state of the Union
and the province of Canada, and has visited
nearly all cities of note in North America.
His services have been of inestimable value
to the labor unions all over the country, and
he is held in high regard by all who have
the pleasure of his acquaintance. He is a
member of Bloomington Lodge, No. 43, F.
& A. M., of which he is now senior warden,
and belongs to the Chapter and Council, and
is also a member of DeMolay Commandery.
K. T.
CAPTAIN HENRY AUGUSTINE is a
representative and enterprising citizen
of Normal, and one of the most prominent
and practical nursery men of the state. He
was born in Lancaster, Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania, July 25, 1840, and is a son
of John A. and Anna (Miller) Augustine,
who were natives of Wittenberg, Germany,
and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, respectively.
The former was an agriculturist, and came
to this country when a boy. He came to
Canton, Illinois, in 1857, where his death
occurred eleven years later. His family
consisted of twelve children, eight of whom
are living. Henry, the subject of this review,
was the eighth child and was reared and
educated in the town of his birth. He came
to Illinois with his parents in 1857, where
he followed his chosen vocation, agriculture.
He served throughout the Civil war, enlist-
ing in Company A, Fifty-fifth Illinois Vol-
unteer Infantry, on the 3d of August, 1861,
being enrolled as a sergeant. His courage
in the face of danger, and his promptness in
the discharge of duty, soon brought him to
the notice of his superior officers, and on
August I, of the following year, he was pro-
moted to the second lieutenancy, and two
months later to the first lieutenancy. On
the 27th of June, 1 864, he was commissioned
captain, and the same year organized Com-
pany I, Fifty-first Illinois Volunteer Infan-
try, serving his country until November,
1865, when he was mustered out of service.
His army life has been full of events, start-
ling and tragic, and to give a minute ac-
count to them would take more space than
is allotted to us in this volume. Suffice it
is to say that he participated in thirty-two
hard-fought and well-contested battles, and
was one hundred ninety-six days under fire
of the enemy. Shiloh was one of the sev-
eral contests through which he passed, his
regiment losing fifty-one per cent of the
men engaged in the battle. His regiment
marched eleven thousand, nine hundred six-
ty-five miles, during the service, losing one
hundred eight men, and three hundred thir-
ty-three wounded in battle. Two of his
brothers were killed during the war, both of
whom he buried on the field of battle. One
brother, Michael, was attached to the One
io8
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Hundred Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
and was killed during the battle of Mission-
ary Ridge, and the other, J. M., was lieu-
tenant-colonel of the Fifty-fifth Illinois Vol-
unteer Infantry, of which our Henry was a
member.
Upon his discharge from the service, our
subject was engaged in the drug business
until 1870, when failing health compelled
him to abandon it for a vocation which
brought him more in contact with nature in
the primitive state. He removed to Pon-
tiac, Livingston county, Illinois, where he
was engaged in the farming and nursery
business for six years, and at the end of that
time came to Normal, giving his entire
time and attention to the nursery and fruit
business. Under the direction of his well-
disciplined mind, and guided by the wisdom
that comes from experience, Mr. Augustine
has built up a very extensive and flourish-
ing business, his shipments reaching France,
Germany, England, Scotland, New Zealand
and South America. He handles all kinds
of fruits, flowers and ornamental trees, and
has introduced that fine specimen of the
pear called the Sudduth, which is attract-
ing the attention of fruit-growers and fan-
ciers. He is a man of large experience in
horticulture, whose services and council are
sought all over the state. He was superin-
tendent of the fruit exhibit for the state of
Illinois, at the Columbian Exposition, in
1892, and was president of the National
Nurserymen's Society, also president of the
State Horticulture Society. His services
are in constant demand at all the meetings
of the Farmers' Institutes, and also at the
horticultural societies as a lecturer.
In February, 1870, our subject was
united in marriage to Miss Maggie E. Gapen,
who has given him one child, Archie, a bright
young man, who assists his father to the
management of his extensive business. Mr.
Augustine is a man of much benevolence, and
is much interested in a number of charitable
institutions. He has been identified with the
Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society for
sixteen years, and is now one of its directors.
He has been president of the State Sunday
School Association for some time. He is a
prominent member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and has been its Sunday School
superintendent for sixteen years. He is an
honored member of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and has several times held re-
sponsible offices. Mr. Augustine possesses
a cordial and courteous manner, and is one
of the most popular men of Normal with the
young people, who has the full confidence of
his fellow-citizens, the result of an honor-
able and upright career.
BYRON R. BURKE, a prominent rep-
resentative of the agricultural interests
of McLean county, Illinois, now owns and
operates a fine farm of three hundred acres
in Old Town township, upon which the
greater part of his life has been spent. He
is a native, however, of New York, born in
Watertown, Jefferson county, January 5,
1857, and is a son of Samuel W. and Hulda
E. (Burke) Burke, who, although bearing
the same name, were not related prior to
their marriage. The father was born near
Alexander Bay, New York, where he was
reared in the usual manner of farmer boys
of his day, remaining at home until he at-
tained his majority. He was one of the
"forty-niners" who went to California in
search of gold, and while on the Pacific
slope he met with fair success. With his
two partners, he built the first house in
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
109
Placerville, California, and after digging
gold for about a year, they opened a gen-
eral store at that place, which they conduct-
ed with remarkable success from 1851 until
1856. Having accumulated considerable
capital, Mr. Burke returned to Watertown,
New York, in 1856, and continued to make
his home there for some time. There he
was united in marriage with Hulda E.
Burke, who was born in Indiana, but as her
parents died during her childhood, she was
reared by her grandparents in Watertown,
New York. After his marriage, Mr. Burke
purchased a farm in his native state and en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits there until
the spring of 1866, when he removed to
McLean county, Illinois. He purchased a
tract of land on section 3, Old Town town-
ship, which he transformed into a good
farm, and in connection with agricultural
pursuits also engaged in business as a cap-
italist. Selling his farm, he finally removed
to Bloomington, but a few years later
bought the property now owned by our sub-
ject, and here engaged in general farming
and stock raising until his death, which oc-
curred October 30, 1884. He left a widow
and six children, of whom our subject is
the oldest, the others being May, now Mrs.
J. D. Hagan, of Mansville, N. Y. ; Charles,
a physician of Atlanta, Illinois; Sada, wife
of C. W. Dooley, of Bloomington; Reed, a
farmer of Mexico, Missouri; and Clara, wife
of Frank Parritt, a jeweler, of Bloomington.
The mother is still living, and though she
makes her home in Bloomington, she spends
considerable time in travel.
Byron R. Burke was educated in the
public schools of McLean county and of
Bloomington, and remained upon the home
farm with his father until his marriage,
which was celebrated January 28, 1880,
Miss Blanche Bovard, a native of Ohio, be-
coming his wife. Her parents died when
she was quite young, and she lived with
her brothers in this county prior to her
marriage. The children born of this union
are Mabel, Ray, Earle, Edna, Hulda and
Clara.
After his marriage, Mr. Burke rented
the home farm until his father's death,
when he purchased the interest of the other
heirs, and has continued to reside thereon up
to the present time. He is a most thorough
and skillful farmer, and has met with excel-
lent success in his life work. In connection
with general farming he devotes considera-
ble attention to the feeding of stock, and
this branch of his business has also proved
quite profitable. Though he usually sup-
ports the Democratic party by his ballot, he
is somewhat independent in politics, and as
a friend of our public school system he has
most efificiently served as school director in
his district for twelve years.
ADDISON LEROY BARKER, whose
home is at 908 West Washington street,
Bloomington, is a native of Ohio, having
been born in New Haven, Hanover county,
on the i8th of April, 1852, and is a son of
Reuben and Julia Ann (Brubaker) Barker.
The former was a real estate dealer of San-
dusky, Ohio, and was probably a native of
that city. Little is known of him, how-
ever, as both he and his wife died of cholera
when our subject was an infant of two
years. After the death of his parents, our
subject lived with Andrew Brubaker, an
uncle, and a farmer of New Haven, Ohio,
until the opening of the Civil war. Though
but fourteen years of age, he went out with
the Thirty-second Ohio Infantry, as drum-
tlO
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
mer boy, but was transferred and sent
home, as he was not of age. He then
went out with the regiment of Colonel
Wilson, of Mansfield, Ohio, remaining with
them two years before he was permitted to
enlist in the regular service, and at the
expiration of that time he enlisted with the
Third Ohio Cavalry. During the two years
he was with General Wilson, he was in all
the heaviest battles with the Army of the
Potomac, Shiloh, etc. He was with the
Third Ohio Cavalry until the close of the
war, and although an enlisted man for but
three years, yet he was at the front through-
out the entire war.
After being mustered out of the service,
at Columbus, in 1865, our subject went to
Joliet, where he was, for a few weeks, a
fireman on a cut-off of the Michigan Central
railroad. He was ne.xt employed as fireman
on the Chicago & Alton railroad for three
years, and was then made switch engineer,
and extra runner from Joliet to Blooming-
ton and Chicago, running a freight engine
for some years. In 1884 Mr. Barker re-
moved to Bloomington and has run passen-
ger engines most of the time since. In
recent years he has run limited trains
entirely, and principally between Bloom-
ington and St. Louis. He has been over
the road several thousand times, and has
never yet been laid off for a day, which is a
very remarkable record. During all his
experience in railroading Mr. Baker has
met with but two bad accidents. At one
time, while going at the rate of fifty miles
an hour with a special train, a pay car, he
collided with a work train, which was stand-
ing in a cut, and only saved himself by
leaping from the cab. He was exonerated
from blame, as he had previously received
instructions that the road was clear. An-
other time, near Chicago, the engine tipped
over, our subject sustaining very severe
injuries. When Mr. Barker first entered
railroad life the largest engines then in use
weighed from thirty to forty tons, and the
time required to run from Bloomington to
St. Louis was six hours. Now the run is
made in three hours and forty minutes, and
engines weighing from eighty to ninety tons
are used entirely. He has been under a
large number of men and administrators of
the road, from Mr. Jackman, master me-
chanic, down, and with one exception is the
oldest employe of the road, having served
honorably and faithfully for over thirty-five
years.
Our subject is a member of Evergreen
City Lodge, No. 365, I. O. O. P., and is
also a member of the organization, Knights
of Pythias, but owing to the fact that he is
continually on the road, has not held office.
On the 8th of December, 1S92, he was
united in marriage to Miss Amanda Gaffron,
a daughter of Phillip Williams, who for
many years was proprietor of a grocery on
Market street. Mr. Barker built his resi-
dence on Washington street, in 1894. It is
a refined and cheerful home, containing all
the modern improvements and conveniences,
and its hospitable doors are always open to
the many friends and acquaintances of Mr.
and Mrs. Barker.
REV. GEORGE EDWIN SCRIMGER,
D. D. Only the history of the good
and great comes down to us through the
ages. The true religion has been the strong-
est influence known to man through all
time, while the many false doctrines that
have sprung up have flourished only for a
day and then vanished. More potent at the
GEORGE EDWIN SCRIMGER, D. D.
P^'BUC UBRAKY
1^,, J^^TOR. LENOX
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
"3
present than at any period in the world's
history are the work and influence of Chris-
tianity, and among those who are devoting
their lives to its inculcation among men is
Dr. Scrimger, the honored pastor of the
First Methodist Episcopal church of Bloom-
ington. He is one of the leading ministers
of that denomination in Illinois, and his life
is a source of inspiration and encouragement
to all who know him.
The Doctor was born in a log cabin,
near Columbus, Ohio, November 29, 1849,
a son of Thomas E. and Margaret R. (Mc-
Cracken) Scrimger. The father was born
in Virginia, where the family made their
home for many years and were slave hold-
ers, but he was a strong Abolitionist. The
family was founded in this country by two
brothers, natives of Scotland, one of whom
settled in Canada, the other in Virginia.
They had espoused the cause of the pre-
tender and for that offense lost all their
property and were practically banished from
their native land. The grandfather of our
subject, James Scrimger, was a soldier in
the Revolutionary war. The father is a
farmer by occupation, and in the midst of
the forests of Ohio cleared and improved a
farm. About 1853 he brought his family
to Lexington, McLean county, Illinois, and
there developed a good farm of one hundred
and sixty acres on which he still lives at the
age of eighty-one years, his birth having
occurred July 2, 1818. He has been quite
a prominent man in his community, has
served as supervisor and school director, and
is held in high regard by all who know him.
An earnest, consistent Christian, he has
long been an active worker in the Methodist
Episcopal church, has served as class leader,
steward and superintendent of the Sunday-
school, and his home has always been the
6
stopping place of the ministers. There have
been about five or six Methodist Episcopal
ministers reared in that locality. The
mother of our subject, who was also a faith-
ful member of that denomination, was born
at Hilliards, Franklin county, Ohio, in Jan-
uary I, 1 8 17, and was a daughter of Henry
McCracken, of Scotch-Irish descent, who
came to Lexington, Illinois, with the Scrim-
ger family, and was a farmer by occupation.
She died January 28, 1862, at the age of
forty-five years.
Reared on the home farm in this county.
Dr. Scrimger attended the public schools of
Selma, and for five years was a student in
WfeSleyan University, where he was grad-
uated with, the degree of A. B., in June,
• .i,8?4,»'aHd1:Wb years later received the de-
gree of A. M. Standing high in his class,
he had the honor of being appointed by the
faculty as a junior contestant and his essay
received the prize. After his graduation he
taught in the University and at the same
time supplied the Wapella circuit as a local
preacher. In the fall of 1875, he joined
the conference and began a four years' course
of reading. His first appointment was at
Downs, McLean county, where he remained
two years, being their first stationed pastor,
and the congregation rapidly grew under his
leadership. He was ordained a deacon in
1877 and took supernumerary relation. He
then pursued a three years' course at the
Drew Theological Seminary at Madison,
New Jersey, and supported himself by sup-
plying a small church near by. During his
last summer there he supplied the pulpit of
the Franklin Square Independent Methodist
church, and on the death of the regular
minister at that time, he was called to the
pastorate, but declined to accept, preferring
to keep in the regular work. By Drew
114
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Seminary he was granted the degree of B.
D. In the fall of 1880 he took charge of a
church at Havana, lUinois, where he re-
mained for two years, and then accepted
the pastorate of the Second Methodist Epis-
copal church of Springfield and during his
three years there met with excellent success
in building up the membership.
On the 3d of February, 1885, Dr. Scrim-
ger married Miss Emma Tracy, of New Or-
leans, a distant relative of ex-Secretary
Tracy. Her father, Thomas G. Tracy, was
a distinguished literary man of New Orleans
and at one 'time the editor of the Republic-
an; being a northern man by birth, but go-
ing south when young, he became identified
with the growth of the Crescent City. He
was sent South by the New York Tribune
during the civil war as a war correspondent.
His people were pioneers of New York state.
He died while on a visit to his daughter,
Mrs. Scrimger, in Danville, February 11,
1893. The children born to the Doctor and
his wife are Ruth, Edwin Tracy, Paul and
Margaret.
In 1885, Dr. Scrimger took charge of
Trinity church, Quincy, and in the fall of
1887 was appointed to Grace church, Deca-
tur, where he remained for four years, which
period marked an important epoch in the
growth of the church, both spiritually and
financially. The church property was im-
proved by steam heat and a pipe organ.
In 1 891 he was appointed presiding elder of
the Danville district, and during his six years
in that position his time was fully occupied
as he had thirty-four charges under his di-
rection. It was at this time, in 1892, that
Illinois Wesleyan University conferred upon
him the degree of D. D. In the fall of
1897 he was appointed to his present charge
— the First Methodist Episcopal church of
Bloomington — and during the past year
twelve thousand dollars were raised for the
repair fund, and over one hundred added to
the church, which now has a membership
of over twelve hundred — the largest in the
Illinois conference. Dr. Scrimger's work
here is arduous as he has no assistant to help
him. He often conducts from three to four
funeral sermons a week, performs a large
number of wedding ceremonies and has
many calls to make. He is a man of thought-
ful, earnest purpose, of strong intellectual
endowments, of broad charity and kindly
nature, and by all denominations as well as
his own people, is held in the highest regard.
At the last election of the general conference
he was made first reserve delegate. Fra-
ternally, he is a member of the blue lodge,
chapter and council of the Masonic order,
at Havana, and the commandery at Danville.
PROFESSOR DELMAR DUANE DAR-
RAH, director of the Wesleyan School
of Oratory, and a prominent citizen of
Bloomington, is a native of Illinois, born in
Tolono, Champaign county, July 15, 1868,
and is a son of Dr. Alexander T. and Eliza-
beth H. (Fugate) Darrah, the former a native
of Ohio, the latter of Pike county, Illinois.
The maternal grandfather of our subject
was born in Virginia. During his early life
the father read medicine and graduated
from Rush Medical College, Chicago, after
which he located in Tolono and engaged
in practice thereuntil 1883. He then came
to Bloomington, and remained one of the
prominent and successful physicians of this
place until called from this life September
4, 1889. He was also one of its leading
and influential citizens and took an active
and prominent part in public affairs. He
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
115
served as supervisor and was once candidate
for mayor. The mother died in June,
1884, leaving three children: Delmar D.,
our subject; Nellie, now the wife of A. G.
Lain, of Shirley; and Ada M.
Professor Darrah began his education in
the public schools of Tolono, and after com-
ing to Bloomington entered the Wesleyan
University, where he was graduated in 1890
with the degree of Ph. B. He was a mem-
ber of the Phi Delta Theta society. After
his graduation he took a three-years' course
in elocution, oratory and dramatic art under
private teachers in Chicago and the east,
and on his return to Bloomington estab-
lished a school of oratory which is co-oper-
ative with the University, except that the
board of trustees exercise supervision over
all of the departments. The school now
has an enrollment of from fifty to seventy-
five pupils each year, and he is assisted in
his labors by an able corps of instructors.
A thorough and systematic course of in-
struction has been established, and the large
attendance which the school has is sufficient
evidence of the superiority of the work ac-
complished. It is the aim of the school to
create expressive readers and efficient teach-
ers and the studies pursued are physical cult-
ure, Delsarte and the principles of gesture,
elocution, voice culture, study of emotion,
rhetoric, English literature, etc. Professor
Darrah ranks among the best readers and
interpreters in the state, and has met with
marked success in the conduct of his school.
On June 21, 1898, he was united in
marriage with Miss Isabel Wetzell, of
Bloomington, a daughter of Joseph Wet-
zell. They are both members of the First
Presbyterian church, and the Professor is a
prominent member of the Masonic frater-
ity. He is editor and proprietor of the Illi-
nois Free Mason, which was established by
Owen Scott in 1885 and purchased by our
subject in 1892, who finds the work both
pleasant and profitable. It is the represent-
ative Masonic paper in the state and has a
large circulation which is constantly increas-
ing. Professor Darrah is one of the most
influential members of Bloomington Lodge,
No. 43, F. & A. M., of which he is both
past and present master. He has also rep-
resented the lodge in the Grand Lodge of
the state; has been deputy grand lecturer of
the Grand Lodge; district deputy grand
master for five years; and is now a member
of the finance committee. He is also past
high priest of Bloomington Chapter, No.
26, R. A. M.; has been a representative to
the grand chapter; and was one of the grand
lecturers in 1898. He has held office in
Bloomington Council; is past commander of
DeMolay Commandery, and has been a
representative to the grand commandery;
and is a member of the intermediate bodies
to the Peoria Consistory.
JAMES L. LOAR, a prominent and suc-
cessful attorney of Bloomington, was,
born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Janu-r
ary 24, 1864, and on the paternal side is of
German descent. The family was founded
in Virginia about the time of the Revolu-
tionary war, and later one branch of the
family, consisting of five brothers, came
north. John Loar, the father of our sub-
ject, was born April 21, 1826, in Waynes-
burg, Pennsylvania, where he grew to man-
hood and married Miss Maria White, a
daughter of Israel White, who was also a
representative of an old Pennsylvania fam-
ily of German origin, his father being a res-
ti6
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ident of the Keystone state. In March,
1868, John Loar came to McLean county,
Illinois, and purchased the Walton place,
ten miles south of Fairbury, and six miles
and a half northeast of Colfax, being at
that time the oldest and finest farm in this
section. He was a prominent horseman,
selling more fine horses than any other man
in the county. He and his family have al-
ways been great lovers of the noble steed,
and his horses carried off most of the prem-
iums at the fairs where they were exhib-
ited. He was a director of the Fairbury
Fair, and also of the Belle Prairie Fair for
twenty-two years, and was one of the found-
ers and principal stockholders of the latter.
He was also an officer of the Livingston
County Mutual Insurance Company, which
was one of the earliest corporations of the
kind established. He was a successful and
prosperous farmer and served as justice of
the peace in his township for some time.
Two years prior to his death he retired from
active life and removed to Colfax.
On the celebration of his golden wed-
ding in April, 1897, which was a notable
event in the community, all of his eight liv-
ing children were present, and also fourteen
grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Two more grandchildren were born before
his death. The wife and mother died June
14, 1898, and he passed away October 5,
1898, honored and respected by all who
knew them. For half a century they were
faithful members of the Christian church,
and were among the early members of that
church in their community. Their children
were as follows: Thomas J., a resident of
Colfax; David W., a druggist of McCook,
Nebraska; Elizabeth L., wife of William
Long, of Manson, Iowa; George F., a drug-
gist of Lewiston, Illinois; Mrs. Emma F.
Gaddis, of Beaver City, Nebraska; James
L. , our subject; Ida B., wife of Sherman
Williams, a farmer of Cropsey; and Arthur
M., who lives on the old homestead.
James L. Loar acquired his early educa-
tion in the country schools near his boyhood
home, later engaged in teaching for two
years in McLean county, and later was
principal of the schools at Bluff City, Illi-
nois. He attended the literary department
of the Michigan University at Ann Arbor,
and later the law department of the same
institution, where he was graduated with
the degree of LL. B. in June, 1887, and
was admitted to the supreme court of Michi-
gan. Going to Colby, Thomas county,
Kansas, he opened an office, and was not
long in building up a good practice. He
was elected state's attorney in 1888 and
again in 1890 for that county, and while
serving in that office had charge of the
prosecution of the celebrated "Bohemian
Club " case under the prohibition laws of
Kansas. This case was tried six times,
twice in the justice courts, three times in
the district court and once in the supreme
court, resulting in a victory for the state.
It is perhaps needless to say that the liquor
interests were represented by the ablest
counsel obtainable, and the case was con-
sidered the most stubbornly contested in
northwestern Kansas. Mr. Loar also prose-
cuted one murder case and others of impor-
tance during his term and also conducted a
good private practice. Resigning his posi-
tion in 1 89 1, he removed to Ogden, Utah,
where he engaged in general practice until
July, 1897, meeting with excellent success.
While a resident of Utah, Mr. Loar was
twice state president of the State Sunday
School Association and for five years superin-
tendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
117
School in Ogden, which he made the larg-
est evangelical Sunday school in the state.
He was also twice elected president of the
State Epworth League Association, was
chairman of the board of trustees most of the
time, and attorney for the board of church ex-
tension for five years. For four years he also
represented Bradstreet and other prominent
mercantile agencies. While there his law
library was destroyed by fire, but has since
built up another fine one. He thoroughly
understands the Mormon church, and
worked hard to destroy its injurious in-
fluences.
On the loth of August, 1892, Mr. Loar
married Miss Mildred Wood, a daughter of
Mrs. Sarah P. Wood, of Fredonia, Kansas.
Her father, Harvey S. Wood, now deceased,
was a soldier, all through the civil war serv-
ing as first lieutenant in Company E, Six-
teenth Ohio Regular Volunteer Infantry.
Two daughters have been born to our sub-
ject and his wife, namely: Constance and
Romaine. In July, 1S97, Mr. Loar brought
his family to Bloomington where he has
since successfully engaged in general prac-
tice, having accomplished more in two years
than most lawyers do in a much greater
length of time. Although not a criminal
lawyer, he has tried a number of important
cases along that line, and has had charge of
a number of trial cases. He has ever met
with marked success in jury trials, as he is
not only a good judge of law, but, what is al-
most equally important, he is a good judge
of men. It is these qualities, together with
his great earnestness and ability as a speak-
er, that has brought to him success. Mr.
Loar has prepared a very interesting lec-
ture entitled "Modern Mormonism " which
he has delivered with great success.
Socially, he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America and is now serving a
second term as venerable consul of his
lodge.
OLIVER R. SKINNER, the well-known
director of the Wesleyan College of
Music and a leader in musical circles in
Bloomington, was born in Lake Zurich, Lake
county, Illinois, February 7, 1864, and is a
son of David and Mary C. (Ross) Skinner,
natives of New York, who were born near
Geneseo, as were also their parents. The
mother was a descendant of Lord Ross,
who came to this country in the Mayflower,
and the father's ancestors also came to
America in colonial days and assisted the
colonies in their struggle for independence
as soldiers of the Revolutionary war. In
1849, David Skinner, with two brothers,
came to Lake county, Illinois, driving five
thousand sheep across the country, and he
purchased a tract of wild land, to the culti-
vation and improvement of which he devot-
ed his energies until 1877, when he moved
to Normal for the purpose of educating his
children. He died in 1896, leaving three
children. He was a supporter of the Re-
publican party, and as a campaign speaker
did much to promote its interests and insure
its success. He was a faithful member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and was
highly respected by all who knew him.
Mr. Skinner, of this review, began his
education in the schools of his native coun-
ty, and after the removal of the family to
Normal was a student in the Normal school
and the Wesleyan University. At an early
age he also took up the study of music, and
for some time was a pupil of Professor
Stanley, of Evanston, and Professor Frank
Mueller. In 1884 he went to Berlin, Prus-
ii8
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
sia, and entered the middle classes of the
Kullak "Neue Akademie der Tonkunst,"
where he took up the study of piano under
Professors Eckhoff, Rhenius and Jean Vogt;
harmony under Heinrich Throm; and organ
under the noted concert player, Franz Grun-
icke. At the end of the first year he en-
tered the higher classes and pursued his
studies under Franz Kullak, Albert Becker
and Franz Grunicke. During that year he
appeared in several concerts and won the
praise of critical Berlin audiences. During
the first summer vacation he studied Hen-
selt's and Tausig's methods with Heinrich
Throm, a pupil of these masters, and also
began the study of the higher branches of
theory and composition with Albert Becker,
the composer of the Hallelujah cantata,
which was sung at one of the great concerts
given at the World's Fair, and the director
of the noted cathedral choir in Berlin. For
over two years Mr. Skinner earnestly pur-
sued his studies under these masters, and
during the second summer's vacation he
mastered Bussler's Harmony in order ac-
quire greater theoretical technique.
Returning to his home in the fall of
1887, Mr. Skinner founded the Blooming-
ton Conservatory of Music, which met with
excellent success and numbered at the end
of the second year over two hundred and
fifty pupils. At that time Mr. Skinner and
John R. Gray decided to consolidate the
Bloomington Conservatory and the Illinois
College of Music, and the school thus formed
has since been known as the Wesleyan Col-
lege of Music, with which Mr. Skinner has
been connected for the past nine years. As
a teacher he stands high in the public opin-
ion, which fact is attested by his long list
of talented pupils. The school is the larg-
est of its kind in central Illinois and now
has an attendance of over six hundred,
there being but one or two musical colleges
larger in Chicago. The college has eight
most competent and thorough teachers, and
many of its graduates are now teaching in
Chicago, Jacksonville and other places, and
a number have continued their studies in
Europe. During the past five years Mr.
Skinner has given special training in a course
of gymnastics for the hand, arm and lingers,
and his work in this line has been followed
by such wonderful results in the way of giv-
ing the student self-control, perfect relaxa-
tion as well as tension where needed in solv-
ing the problem of execution, that it is now
introduced into the general course of the
college. He has played at state teacher
associations with pronounced success, and
has given concerts at frequent intervals in
addition to his daily duties as a teacher.
He is a writer of more than ordinary ability,
and is a regular contributor to leading mus-
ical journals. Asa composer and editor he
also ranks high among young writers, and
his "Sketches" have won favorable com-
ment from such men as Liebling, Presser,
Sherwood, Gleason and other critics. Dur-
ing the past year he has done considerable
revising and editing standard teaching pieces
for eastern publishers. For seven or eight
years he was organist at the First Methodist
Episcopal church of Bloomington, and now
holds that position in the Christian church.
He organized and carried on the Mendels-
sohn Male Chorus for a number of years.
On the 17th of August, 1896, Mr. Skin-
ner was united in marriage with Miss Farie
Stevick, of Naperville, Illinois. Mrs. Skin-
ner is a very talented soprano and a most
successful teacher, having for the past three
years been principal of the vocal depart-
ment of the Wesleyan College of Music.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
119
She is eminently qualified to impart the
most thorough and artistic instruction to
her pupils, and has enrolled more students
in the vocal department than any previous
teacher. For several years she was a stu-
dent at the Cincinnati Conservatory, and
for three years pursued her studies with the
noted Italian master. Signer Carpi, of the
Chicago Conservatory — now of Milan, Italy.
Her voice has a phenomenal compass, ex-
tending to E above high C, and is through-
out pure and melodious in quality. She
possesses a pleasing personal. ty and the gift
of enthusing her pupils. She is now soloist
and leader of the choir of the Christian
church, though she and her husband hold
membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in social as well as musical cir-
cles they occupy an enviable position.
ELMER J. ZEITERS, a leading and rep-
resentative citizen of Dale township,
has made his home in McLean county, Illi-
nois, since the i8th of March, 1882, and
has been actively identified with its agri-
cultural interests, owning and operating at
present a fine farm of one hundred and
twenty acres. He was born July 7, 1864,
in Hummelstown, Dauphin county, Penn-
sylvania, of which place his parents, Jacob
and Matilda (Bomgardner) Zeiters, were
also natives, as was also the paternal grand-
father, George Zeiters, who was born on
the same farm where the birth of our sub-
ject and his father occurred. The family
was originally from Germany and were pio-
neers of Dauphin county. There the father
of our subject engaged in farming and was
one of the well-to-do and prominent citizens
of his community. On leaving his native
state and coming west in 1883, he first lo-
cated in Dry Grove township, McLean
county, Illinois, and afte;- living there two
years removed to Funks Grove township,
where he followed his chosen occupation,
that of a farmer. His next home was in
Montgomery township. Ford county, Illi-
nois, but is now living in Calhoun county,
Iowa, where he has purchased a farm. His
wife still survives, and with them resides
their oldest son, George, while our subject
and their onl}' daughter, Mrs. Lizzie Burk-
hart, live in this county, the latter being a
resident of Dry Grove township.
Elmer J. Zeiters acquired his literary
education in the public schools of Pennsyl-
vania, and remained with his father until he
attained his majority, when he started out
in life for himself as an agriculturist. On
the 22d of December, 1886, he married
Miss Lizzie Sholty, a sister of Jacob Sholty,
who is represented on another page of this
volume. To them have been born five
children, of whom four are now living:
Harry, Ethel, Estella and Orville.
For one year after his marriage, Mr.
Zeiters rented the farm which he now owns
and then purchased the place. It is one of
the richest and most productive farms in the
county, and he has refused ninety dollarsan
acre for it. He engaged quite successfully
in general farming and stock-raising until
1897, when he removed to Covell and
embarked in business as a general mer-
chant and dealer in grain and coal, having
charge of the entire business of the village
with the exception of the blacksmithing.
He built up an excellent trade and also
served as postmaster of the place, but pre-
ferring farm life, he sold his business in-
terests there, resigned his office and returned
to the farm in the spring of 1899. He has
remodeled his residence, transforming it
I20
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
into a fine country home, and is now suc-
cessfully engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He takes quite an active interest in educa-
tional affairs, and in 1899 was elected school
trustee of his district, which office he is now
most creditabl}' filling. Although a mem-
ber of the Lutheran church, he attends and
gives his support to the Methodist Episcopal
church of Covell, in which his wife holds
membership. He is widely and favor-
ably known in both business and social
circles, and has won the confidence and
respect of all with whom he has come in
contact.
JEHU LITTLE, M. D. The world has
little use for the misanthrope. The
universal truth of brotherhood is widely
recognized, also that he serves God best who
serves his fellow men. There is no profes-
sion or line of business that calls for greater
self-sacrifice or more devoted attention than
the medical profession, and the successful
physician is he who, through love of his
fellow men, gives his time and attention to
the relief of human suffering. Dr. Little is
one of the ablest representatives of this
noble calling in Bloomington, and is to-day
serving as pension examiner.
The Doctor was born in Washington
county, Indiana, October 6, 1833, and is a
son of Richard and Sarah (Hughes) Little,
also natives of that county, where they were
reared and married. Our subject's paternal
great-grandfather was a native of Virginia,
but the grandfather, Jehu Little, was born
in Kentucky and was a pioneer of Wash-
ington county, Indiana, locating twelve
miles from Salem. The great-grandfather
was a soldier of the Revolutionary war.
The mother, who was a faithful member of
the Baptist church, died in her native
county, and in 1S42 the father removed to
Clark county, Illinois, where he purchased
a farm and made his home until called to
his final rest. He held membership in the
Protestant Methodist church, and was held
in high esteem by all who knew him.
Dr. Little is one of a family of five chil-
dren. Calvin Little, his only brother, died
April 30, 1899, at Kirksville, Missouri, from
injuries received in the cyclone at that
place three days before. Age, sixty-seven
and a half years. Maria Goldsby, his old-
est'sister, died at her home in Adair county,
Missouri, in 1S98. Age, seventy-two years.
Mary Boyer, his youngest sister, died at her
home in Edgar county, Illinois, July 14,
1899. Age, sixtj'-three years. His other
sister, Mrs. Marenda Hyden, resides in Ed-
gar county, Illinois. She is seventy years
of age. He cherished a warm affection for
his brother and sisters.
Dr. Little acquired his early education
in the schools of Clark county, later attend-
ing Marshall College, of Marshall, Illinois,
and the Normal University, of Normal,
Illinois. In the meantime he taught school
for four years, and in August, 1861, after a
most thorough and severe competitive ex-
amination by the board of education, he
was appointed principal of a school in
Bloomington for one year. He was a
student at the Normal University two years
and two terms, lacking but one term and
one study of graduating, and he would
have graduated had he not gone into the
Union army. October i, 1S61, he resigned
his school and enlisted as hospital steward
in the 33d Illinois Volunteers, known as
the Normal Regiment, and on January 3,
1862, he was detailed as brigade hospital
steward at Ironton, Missouri. On the 6th
of October of the same year he was ap-
pointed hospital steward in the Regular
army. United States of America, by the
secretary of war, Edward M. Stanton, and
assigned to duty at the large United States
hospital in Chicago, where he had a great
deal of power. On the 12th of January,
1863, he was commissioned assistant sur-
geon of the Twenty-fourth Missouri Volun-
teer Infantry by Governor Gamble, of Mis-
souri, and joined the regiment at West
Plains, that state, February 7, remaining
JEHU LITTLE, M. D.
PUBLIC L.BllARY
ASTOR, LENOX
I TILPCN FOUND.'. TIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
123
with it until it was mustered out at the ex-
piration of its term of enhstment, in Octo-
ber, 1864, at St. Louis, Missouri. He was
with the regiment in the field in southeast-
ern Missouri, western Kentucky, Tennessee
and Louisiana, and in the celebrated Red
river campaign under Banks; was with Gen-
eral Sherman's command through Missis-
sippi from Vicksburg to Meridian, and then
went to southern Tennessee and northern
Mississippi under General A. J. Smith, 01
the Third Division, Sixteenth Army Corps.
Dr. Little always displayed great heroism
in the presence of great danger, and in
1864, right after the battle of Tupelo, Mis-
sissippi, he volunteered to remain with the
wounded of the army, knowing well that
he would be captured by the enemy, and he
was the only surgeon who would make tlje
sacrifice. Ten days after being taken pris--
oner he was first sent with the wounded to the
Federal hospital at Mobile, then, with three
other captured surgeons and a colonel, he
was sent to Meridian, Mississippi, from there
to the noted prison in Cahaba, Alabama, and
thence to Montgomery, Alabama, and on to
Libby prison, Richmond, Virginia, where,
with three hundred and fifty others, he was
finally released September i, 1864, after
nearly two months' imprisonment. He was
then sent to Annapolis and later to Wash-
ington, District of Columbia, where he was
granted a furlough of one month, a part of
which he spent in Bloomington. The priva-
tions and hardships endured and suffered
while he was held as a prisoner injured his
physical health more than the three years'
previous service in our army. He weighed
one hundred and seventy-five pounds when
he fell into the Confederates' hands, and
when released he weighed one hundred and
twenty-nine pounds and was very weak and
feeble. In fact he has been an invalid ever
since. On the ist of October he rejoined
his regiment at Jefferson barracks, St.
Louis, and with it went in pursuit of Price,
v\'ho had invaded Missouri with the inten-
tion of capturing St. Louis. After driving
.that rebel general from the state, the regi-
ment was mustered out October 28, 1864,
on the expiration of the term of enlistment.
At four different times during his service
Dr. Little was in charge of smallpox hos-
pitals located at Ironton, Missouri; Union
City, Tennessee; New Madrid, Missouri, and
Alexandria, Louisiana, and for a time had
charge of the government smallpox hospital
at Vicksburg. In 1S63, when serving as sur-
geon of the Fourth Missouri Cavalry, he ac-
companied Colonel George E. Waring on
his perilous expedition after Forrest in Ken-
tucky and Tennessee, being the only sur-
geon with the command. In southwestern
Missouri, when facing a large force, the
comtiiander called for a volunteer to ride
sixty miles in the night to Ironton for re-en-
forcements. The Doctor came forward and
offered hie; services, and taking a horse rode
•• there and back in safety, though surrounded
on all sides by bushwhackers. This was
only one of many times when he displayed
great bravery and came to the assistance
of his comrades. After being mustered out
with the Twenty-fourth Missouri Volunteer
Infantry, Dr. Little went to New York City
and attended a course of lectures at the
Bellevue Hospital Medical College, and a
spring term in the Long Island Hospital
Medical College, graduating June 24, 1865.
}le was then examined by the army medical
examining board in New York and commis-
sioned assistant surgeon of the One Hundred
and Tenth United States Colored Infantry,
which he joined September 9, 1865, at
Nashville, Tennessee, and with which he re-
mained until February 6, 1866, when he
was mustered out at Huntsville, Alabama.
Dr. Little had commenced the study of
medicine before entering the army, having
attended medical clinics and lectures in Chi-
cago. On his return from the army he
opened an office for the practice of his chosen
profession in Bloomington in February,
1866, but the following July removed to Le-
roy, where he did an extensive country prac-
tice for ten years. He returned to Bloom-
ington in May, 1877, and has since been
engaged in the general practice of medicine,
124
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
though giving special attention to the dis-
eases of women and children. After sell-
ing out in Leroy, he went to Philadelphia,
in January, 1877, and there took a post-
graduate course in Jefferson Medical Col-
lege and regularly graduated. He was not
long in building up a good practice in Bloom-
ington, which he still enjoys. He is a prom-
inent member of the McLean County Med-
ical Society, the Illinois State Medical So-
ciety, and the American Medical Associa-
tion. He has been secretary and' president
of the first named and is now its treasurer,
and has often read papers before the differ-
ent societies, and has contributed many val-
uable articles to medical journals. He is
now secretary of the United States board
of pension examiners appointed by the com-
missioner of pensions.
On the 7th of February, 1867, Dr.
Little was united in marriage with Miss
Helen M. Humiston, of Abingdon, Kno.x
■county, Illinois, who was educated at Gales-
burg, and to them have been born four chil-
dren, namely: Mary A., wife of Louis \\'.
Sensenny, of Chatham; Richard H., who
for the past four years has been connected
with the Chicago Tribune, and who distin-
guished himself as its staff correspondent
at Havana, Cuba, during the winter of 1898
'99; and who is now in the Philippine Islands
and as the Tribune's staff correspondent;
Willie, who died at the age of two years;
and Lillian, who is at home. The Doctor
attends the Unitarian church and is liberal
in his religious views. His family are mem-
bers of the First Methodist Episcopal
church. For twenty-two years he has
made his home at No. 606 East Taylor
street.
Since the organization of the Republic-
an party. Dr. Little has been one of its
stanch supporters and was one of the or-
ganizers of the original Fourth Ward Mc-
Kinley Club, in March, 1896, and was its
president the last three months of the cam-
paign of 1896; he organized the McLean
county soldiers into the Union \'eterans'
Patriotic League, of Bloomington, in Au-
gust, 1896, and from the very start was its
honored president. He is also an active
and prominent member of the Grand Army
of the Republic, and at different times has
served as adjutant, surgeon and commander
of the post in Bloomington. In 1895 he
was elected medical director of the Depart-
ment of Illinois for one term, has usually
been a delegate to the department encamp-
ment, and was once a delegate to the na-
tional encampment. He is an active worker
and secretary of the Illinois Association of
Union E.\-Prisoners of War, and for twenty
years has been a member of Bloomington
Lodge, No. 43, F. & A. M. For almost a
quarter of a century he has been numbered
among the valued citizens of Bloomington
who have been devoted to the public wel-
fare. He has manifested the same loyalty
in days of peace as in days of war, and all
who know him have for him the highest re-
gard.
REV. MILTON L. HANEY, who makes
his home in the city of Normal, is one
of the most successful evangelists in the
Methodist Episcopal church, and is not
only a preacher of the gospel of rare power,
but he has a military record of which any
man might well be proud. He was born in
Savannah, Richland county, Ohio, January
23, 1825, and is the son of Rev. James and
Mary (Bevans) Haney, his father being a
native of Ireland, who came to this country
a youth of si.xteen years, and located first in
Pennsylvania, where he was married and
raised a family by his first wife, and later
moved to Ohio, where after death of first
wife he married the mother of our subject,
where he engaged for a time in farming,
and in local preaching. \\'hile in Pennsyl-
vania, feeling that he was called of God, he
entered the ministry of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and became a minister of
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
125
prominence and ability, devoting nearly all
his life to his chosen work, his field of labor
being principally in the states of Ohio and
Illinois. During the war of 18 13 he served
his adopted country faithfully and well, and
while residing in Ohio served for two years
in the state legislature. In 1 834 he removed
with his family to Illinois and located in
Fulton county, and in this state the re-
mainder of his life was spent, dying at the
age of eighty years. He was a good man
in every respect, active in every good and
righteous cause, and lived a life of useful-
ness, a blessing to others as well as him-
self. By two marriages, he became the
father of fourteen children, four of the num-
ber becoming prominent ministers in the
Methodist Episcopal church, who have left
the impress of their mind and individuali-
ty upon thousands, especially in the mili-
tary tract of Illinois. Two of the four are
yet living and actively engaged in preaching
the gospel of the Son of God.
The subject of this sketch came to Illi-
nois with his parents, in 1834, being at the
time nine years of age. He received his
early training and education in Fulton coun-
ty, Illinois, completing his course in Platts-
ville, Wisconsin. His early life was spent
on a farm, and in farming he continued to
engage until 1846, when he felt a decided
call to the ministry, and was soon ordained
to the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and until 18G1 was actively engaged
in preaching the gospel, serving as pas-
tor of some of the most prominent churches
of that denomination in the state.
At the outbreak of the Civil war he saw
the necessity of defending the integrity of
his country against its contemplated disso-
lution by the southern states of the union,
and offering his services to the government.
was commissioned as captain of Company F,
Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantry, and after five
months' command of his company, he was
commissioned chaplain of the regiment and
served as such until near the expiration of
his term of service, when he was commis-
sioned as colonel of the veteran regiment,
near the close of the war. January i, 1865,
he was honorably discharged. All through
the war, and prior to being commissioned
colonel, he showed himself every inch a
soldier, as well as a true christian man.
At the battle of Pittsburg Landing, when a
portion of the Federal troops became panic
stricken and retreated in confusion, although
but a chaplain, he was the man of all the en-
tire force to bring order out of confusion.
He went from point to point on the scene of
carnage importuning the men to be soldiers
worthy of the cause they represented, and to
show their courage by defending it like men.
Whenever he found men enough to rally, he
spoke to them in words of kindness, but
with firmness and enthusiasm. The result
was almost phenomenal — the men rallied,
got together and defeated the enemy. It is
said by some of the officers, high in rank,
that they never heard such eloquence falling
from the lips of man, as Chaplain Haney
urged the dispirited soldiers to renewed ac-
tion. He seemed to be truly inspired of
God, and was in great dread of the Federal
cause being defeated.
Another instance may be mentioned of
the daring and bravery of the chaplain. At
the battle of Atlanta, a portion of the Union
forces were thrown into disorder and con-
fusion caused by the death of General Mc-
Pherson. Chaplain Haney jumped into the
breach, rallied the retreating forces and took
the enemy's position. ,For this meritorious
achievement Congress voted him a gold
126
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
medal, which he honorably but humbly
wears. As captain, chaplain and colonel,
his men loved and trusted him. His hu-
mane treatment of his men in tent, on the
march, in battle or in the hospital, endeared
him to them, and herein laid his strength
and influence over them. He commanded
through respect and love.
On his discharge from the service in Jan-
uary, 1865, Colonel Haney re-entered the
pulpit, and served as pastor for a short time,
but seeing, as John Wesley did, a larger
parish than that assigned him by the bishop,
he became an evangelist, a calling that he has
followed with wonderful success for the last
twenty-two years, and it is estimated that
no less than ten thousand souls have been
turned to God through his agency. The
widespread influence of this man of God
will only be known in eternity, for like a
pebble thrown in a body of water, its influ-
ence continually widens, and the result can
never be measured.
On the loth of July, 1849, Mr. Haney
was united in marriage with Miss Mary C.
Huntsinger, daughter of Peter and Ann
(Holmes) Huntsinger, and by this union four
children were born, only one of whom now
survives, Conrad, who is engaged in the
publishing business in Philadelphia. Al-
though more than three score years have
passed in the life of this man, he is yet act-
ive, and has the same love for souls that in-
spired him to first enter the service of the
Master. He does not believe in man allow-
ing his talents to rust, bnt believes in using
them for the good of humanity and the glory
of God. He is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and chaplain of his
regimental society, and keeps in touch with
the boys that wore the blue during the dark
days from 1861 to 1865.
REV. GEORGE HASTINGS BUR-
GESS, pastor of the First Congre-
gational church of Normal, is one of the
popular and rising ministers of the city. He
was born in Cleveland, Ohio, December 14,
1857, and is the son of George and Mary
F. (Barbour) Burgess, the former a native
of New York, and the latter of Massachu-
setts. George Burgess was a man of refine-
ment and culture, and was a graduate of
the College of the City of New York. Al-
though he studied law and theology, he
never followed either as a profession, but
spent the greater part of his eventful and
useful life as an educator, being fitted by
nature and education for that important
profession. As a public man he held sev-
eral offices of trust and responsibility, at
one time being postmaster of West New
Brighton, on Staten Island, New York. His
good wife passed to her reward in January,
1893, while his death occurred in May of
the same year. They were the parents of
five children — Louis F., Anna B., Charles
G., George H. and Henry C. Of the num-
ber four are yet living.
The subject of this sketch was reared
and partly educated in the public schools of
Bloomfield, New Jersey, being fitted for
college by private instruction. In 1879 he
entered Williams College and took a four-
years' course, graduating in 1883 with the
degree of B. A. He subsequently received
the post-graduate degree of M. A. After
pursuing a theological course, he was called
to the pastorate of the Congregational
church, of Hancock, New York, at which
place he was ordained to the ministry, Rev.
Thomas K. Beecher being moderator on
the occasion. He remained at this point
for four years as a young, but growing and
efficient preacher of the gospel. From
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
127
Hancock he was called to Roxbury, Con-
necticut, where he enjoyed a two years'
pastorate of successful labor. From Rox-
bury he was called to the Third Congrega-
tional church of East Haddam, Connecti-
cut, where he enjoyed a pleasant and prof-
itable pastorate of four years. From the
latter point he was called to his present
parish, where, on June 15, 1894, he took
upon himself the responsible position of
pastor of the First Congregational church
of Normal. This has been the most event-
ful, and yet the most fruitful of all his pas-
torates. In 1896 an event occurred which
brought him most prominently before the
public, his moral character and theology
being called in question by a rumor that he
was a tippler, and to which was added cur-
rent criticism of his theology. In the
proper course of time a n Ecclesiastical Coun-
cil was called, and after rigid examination
he was honorably exonerated from both
charges. This outrage against his charac-
ter and teachings brought him nearer to the
hearts of his people, and elevated him in
the estimation of the public.
Rev. Burgess is a fluent and forcible
speaker, with a clear enunciation, and the
use of the best English. He, in truth,
preaches what he believes, and is not bound
by dogmatic ideas, nor does he " follow the
traditions of the elders, nor the command-
ments of men." He preaches the gospel,
the good news of the Son of God, endeavor-
ing to teach in love.
LYNN E. HERSEY, principal of the
violin department of the Wesleyan Col-
lege of Music, was born in Brighton, Ohio,
July 29, 1863, and is a son of William and
Almira (Patrick) Hersey, who were born.
reared and married in Massachusetts, where
the family was founded in an early day in
the history of this country. From their na-
tive state, the parents removed to Brighton,
Ohio, later to New London, and then to
Wellington, Ohio, the father engaging in
business as a contractor and builder in these
places, being called from this life in 1889
at the latter place. Religiously, he was a
consistent member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, to which his wife also be-
longed.
During the childhood of our subject the
family removed to Wellington, Ohio, and
there he pursued his literary studies in the
common and high schools. During this
time he commenced the study of music un-
der local teachers on the violin, and after
completing his literary education he went
to Mansfield, Ohio, where he became a
pupil of Professor Edward Blitz, a private
teacher and a noted violinist. Subsequently
he entered the Cincinnati College of Music,
where for three years he pursued his studies
under such eminent teachers as Henri
Schradieck and Carl Hauser. Here he took
the higher branches, including harmony and
theory, and was graduated from that insti-
tution in the class of 1885. He then came
to Bloomington and engaged in teaching in
the Wesleyan College of Music for two
years, having charge of the violin depart-
ment. At the end of that time he went to
Germany and entered the Leipzig Conserv-
atory. Having already laid a good founda-
tion for his musical education, he was ena-
bled at once to enter the higher classes and
to complete the required work in much less
time than is demanded of students of ordi-
nary ability. There he studied under the di-
rection of Hans Sitt, a celebrated teacher,
conductor and composer, and also under
228
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Freidrick Hermann and Adolf Brodsky, who
are also widely known violin teachers in
Leipzig. He was a member of the conserv-
atory orchestra while there, which played
in public and won commendable praise.
After receiving his certificate from that far-
famed institution, Mr. Hersey returned
home and resumed his former position in
the Wesleyan College of Music, where he
now has the largest class on the violin in
the state outside of Chicago, his pupils com-
ing from all parts of Illinois. He is one of
the most popular violin players in this sec-
tion and his services are in great demand as
a soloist.
In September, 1893, Mr. Hersey was
united in marriage with Miss Grace Fell, of
Bloomington, a daughter of Robert Fell,
an old and honored resident of this city.
She was a graduate of the Wesleyan College
of Music and there were few musicians in
this city better known or more skillful. Mr.
Hersey holds membership in the Methodist
Episcopal church, to which his wife also
belonged. Mrs. Hersey died December 29,
1898. She was a woman of sweet disposi-
tion and with an unselfish spirit. She de-
voted herself to her home and friends. Her
ambition was for her husband's advance-
ment in his profession and in her work as-
sisting him. He was but yielding to her
wishes that she might be near and aid him.
Her death was indeed a severe blow to her
husband and numberless friends.
JOHN A. BECK— One of the busiest,
most' energetic and enterprising men of
Bloomington is the gentleman whose name
introduces this review. He is engaged in
the undertaking and livery business, with
offices at 203 South Main street, and is do-
ing a prosperous and extensive business.
He is a son of William and Catherine Beck,
and was born in Berlin, Ontario, on the
4th of March, 1858. His education was re-
ceived in the public schools of Berlin, and
upon reaching his seventeenth year he en-
tered the employ of the Great Western
Railroad as brakeman on the Wellington,
Gray and Bruce division, and was eventu-
ally promoted to the position of freight con-
ductor. After six years he went to Toledo,
Ohio, accepting a position as brakeman on
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
Railroad, and was shortly afterward given
charge of a train, which he ran for three
years. In 1884 he resigned from the em-
ploy of the Lake Shore and Michigan South-
ern Railroad and removed to Bloomington,
where he ran a freight train over the Chi-
cago and Alton Railroad for five years, and
for five years following ran through passen-
ger trains between Chicago and St. Louis,
and over the Kansas City division. He was
afaithful employ of the road for over ten
years, and bore the excellent record of
never having met with an accident during
that time. He was summarily dismissed
for carrying an employe of the road with-
out a pass.
In 1893 Mr. Beck went to Chicago,
where he learned the undertaking business,
and the year following returned to Bloom-
ington and formed a partnership with Guy
Carlton, under the firm name of Carlton &
Beck, Mr. Beck assuming the entire charge
and management of the business. In con-
nection with the undertaking establishment
the firm is engaged in the livery business,
with large and commodious stables in the
center of the town. By good management
and judgment, and just and honorable deal-
ings, the business has prospered, and is
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
129
now the leading undertaking and livery
business of Bloomington. Our subject is
also engaged in the undertaking business at
Minier, Tazewell county, under the firm
name of Smith & Beck. Mr. Beck is busi-
ness manager of this concern, while his
partner attends to the practical side of the
business.
On the 1 2th of December, 1886, was
celebrated the marriage of Miss Jennie Agnes
Owens, a daughter of Matthew Owens, of
Bloomington, to our subject, Mr. Beck.
One child, a daughter, Grace, has been
born to this happy union. Mr. and Mrs.
Beck and their daughter are at home at 310
South Main street, in their charming resi-
dence, which was built by Mr. Beck, and
which reflects so much refinement, good
taste and domestic luxury. The family are
prominent members of the Presbyterian
church, and when the Men's League, one of
its social organizations, was formed, our
subject was its second president. He is a
member of a number of Masonic bodies,
among which are the Knight Templars and
Mystic Shriners. He is also a member of
the Knights of Pythias, Order of Red Men,
the I. O. O. P., and other organizations.
Mr. Beck is a prominent figure in Bloom-
ington, possessing a courteous and pleasing
manner, and winning friends by his genial
disposition and honorable character, which
commands the respect of all. In all rela-
tions of life he has always been faithful and
true, and no shadow of wrong has ever
darkened his honorable pathway.
REV. WILLIAM R. WILEY, Ph. D.,
presiding elder of the Normal district,
and a resident of the city of Normal, is one
of the best known ministers of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church in the state of Illi-
nois. He is a native of McLean county,
and was born in Colfax, July 26, 1850, be-
ing the son of William and Nancy S. (Hop-
kins) Wiley, who removed from Indiana to
this county, locating near Colfax, in 1838,
being thus among the pioneers of this local-
ity. William Wiley was a man of some
means, and was a welcome addition to the
community, and here he endured the hard-
ships incident to pioneer life, but being a
man of resolute purpose, he toiled on, early
and late, making for himself and family a
home in this grand county, and giving his
children the advantages of a liberal educa-
tion. He was an efficient and active mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which body his wife is also a member, and
no less active. After a long and useful life,
he died March 31, 1891, leaving a devoted
wife, loving children, and many friends to
mourn his loss. His wife is yet living and
is one of the "live coals on God's altar " in
the village of Colfax. Their family con-
sisted of eight children, five of whom are
yet living: Joseph S., James S., Mrs. Liz-
zie Finchen, Mrs. Amelia Smith and Will-
iam R.
The subject of this sketch was reared
on the home farm, near Colfax, and until
his eighteenth year assisted in the farm
work and attended the pubhc schools of the
neighborhood. He then entered Wesleyan
University, where, in addition to the literary
course, he studied theology and was edu-
cated for the ministry. After the comple-
tion of his studies at Wesleyan University,
he taught school for five years, receiving a
first-grade certificate from William H. Smith,
then county superintendent of public schools
of McLean county. His first pastorate was
at Mackinaw, in 1878-9, and from 1879 un-
130
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
til 1882 he served the churches at Manito
and Spring Lake, Illinois. He was admitted
to the Central Illinois Conference, in 1878,
and on the 4th of October, 1880, he was or-
dained deacon by Bishop Hurst. He was
ordained elder by Bishop Harris, October
I, 1882, at Lexington, Illinois. From 1882
until 1884, he was pastor of the church at
Hudson, and at Gridley from 1884 until
1886. He was then assigned to the charge
at Lewiston, and served until 1891. From
Lewiston he went to Toulon, and there re-
mained until 1894. He was then at Ma-
comb until 1898, when he was elevated to
the office of presiding elder of the Normal
district, and removed to the city of Normal,
where he now resides.
The pastorates of Rev. Wiley have been
successful to a remarkable degree, not only
from a spiritual, but from a material stand-
point also. At Macomb he built a church
edifice and parsonage costing thirty thou-
sand dollars, and while at Lewiston he erect-
ed one costing ten thousand dollars. At
other points where he has labored, he has
erected smaller buildings. His success in this
line has been so great that he has been called
the ' ' church builder," by his brethren of the
conference. As a public speaker he is elo-
quent, impressive and persuasive, touching
the hearts and arousing the consciences of
his hearers. Back of all this, however, is
the hold he has on the Divine hand, with-
out which his life work would have proved
abortive.
On the 8th of June, 1880, Rev. Wiley
was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude
M. Green, who was born in Bloomington,
but who was reared in Towanda, where she
received her education. She is a daughter of
Hamilton and Elizabeth Green, natives of
New York state. By this union seven chil-
dren have been born: Hamilton, Earl,
Robert, Lillian, Elizabeth, Mildred and
Ruth. In his pastoral work, Mrs. Wiley
has been of great assistance to her husband.
In politics, Mr. Wiley is a Republican, but
his ministerial labors have been such that
he could give little time to political mat-
ters. Wherever he has been his influence
has been felt on the side of righteousness
and every good work, and inside and out-
side of his church he has commanded the re-
spect and good will of all.
PAUL BEICH is one of the most enter-
prising and progressive business men
of Bloomington, where he is now success-
fully conducting the largest confectionery
manufactory in central Illinois. Although
he is still a young man comparatively, his
popularity in business circles is established
on a firm basis — that of his own well-tested
merit.
Mr. Beich is a native of Germany, born
in Wehlau, East Prussia, May 22, 1864,
and is a son of August and Hulda (Vogel-
sang) Beich. The father was born and
reared in Margonin, the mother in Schnei-
demuehl, and after their marriage they lo-
cated at Wehlau, where the former served
as hospital inspector under the government.
During the childhood of our subject the fam-
ily removed to Culm, where he remained
until coming to the new world. There the
father served as overseer of a cadet school,
which was one of the first established in
Prussia. He remained with that institution
until he retired from active labor and now
being pensioned. He now lives at Schnei-
demuehl. The mother is a member of the
Lutheran church and both are highly re-
spected old people. The paternal grandfa-
PAUL F. BEICH.
THE N^-.; ',\if:K
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX
TII.»eN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
133
ther of our subject, August Beich, Sr., was
a cloth manufacturer and one of the well-
to-do citizens of Margonin. Our subject
has but one brother, Reinhold, who has a
government position in Germany, being
Oberpost, assistant in the postal service.
Paul Beich attended first a kindergarten
and later a private elementary school, after
which he was a student in the gymnasium
at Culm for seven years. He then served
as regular apprenticeship of three years in
the mercantile trade, completing the same
at the age of eighteen. In 1882 he came
alone to America and at once took up his
residence in Bloomington, where he found
employment with S. A. Maxwell & Company,'
dealers in wall paper, the head of the firm
being now president of the wall paper trust.
Mr. Beich knew but little English at that
time but he was not long in mastering the
language. He was next employed by Bruce
& Brown, confectioners until 1886, when he
went to St. Louis and connected himself
with O. H. Peckham Manufacturing Com-
pany, traveling for them until 1891. His
territory covered the entire state of Illinois,
and while with that firm he became thor-
oughly conversant with every department
of the business. In 1891 he organized the
Beich Buffe Candy Company and did a large
jobbing business until 1893, when he sold
out and returned to Bloomington, purchas-
ing the business of J. W. Gray & Company,
confectionery manufacturers. He carried
on business at No. 221 East Front street
until his increasing business demanded his
removal to larger quarters, and he then lo-
cated at No. 107, the same street and more
centrally located. Still later he removed
to 109 and 1 1 1 East Front street, where he
occupies three floors and a basement, fifty
by one hundred and forty-five feet. In his
7
factory he employs about forty people, and
has eight salesmen upon the road, covering
a large amount of territory in a number of
states. From the beginning his trade has
constantly increased, and the success that
he has achieved in this undertaking is due
entirely to his energy, good business ability
and sound judgment. January i, 1899, he
purchased an interest in the Bloomington
Caramel Company.
On the 4th of September, 1888, Mr.
Beich was united in marriage with Miss Kit-
tie Gerken, a daughter of William A. Gerk-
en, a well-known wholesale baker of Bloom-
ington, and to them have been born two
children: "Otto Gerken and Albert Charles.
Mr, Beichriattends and gives his support to
th6'Episc6'p'a!i-'church, of which his wife is a
member; and socially, he belongs to the
Knights of Pythias, the Columbian Knights,
the Royal Arcanum, Mozart Lodge, F. & A.
M. , Bloomington Chapter, R. A. M., Bloom-
ington Council, De Molay Commandry, K.
T., and the Eastern Star. He is a member
of the National Confectioners Association of
the United States.
SETH S. NOBLE, for thirteen years
chief engineer of the city water-works
of Bloomington, was born in Randolph
township, McLean county, on the 8th of
April, 1855. His paternal grandfather, Da-
vid Noble, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in
September, 1795, was of English descent.
He brought his family to Randolph township
in 1 83 1, purchasing four hundred twenty
acres of land, and was among the first set-
tlers of that township. His son, William
C, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio,
February 25, 18 18, and was a boy of thir-
teen when his father came to Illinois. He
134
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD,
lived on the home farm until his marriage
with the mother of our subject, when he
farmed for himself in Randolph township.
October 31, 1S39, William C. married Miss
Isabel J. Stewart, a daughter of Samuel
Stewart, who came to Randolph township
in 1828. Five children have been born to
this union, two of whom are living, the sub-
ject of this review and Mrs. Alonzo Cutter,
of Hatfield, Massachusetts. Three other
children, a daughter, Alice, and two infant
sons, are deceased. The mother followed
them May 10, 1855, three weeks after the
birth of our subject. Some time later Will-
iam C. married Miss Eunice Burley, January
10, 1856, by whom he had three daughters.
He was a prosperous and successful farmer
and was at one time assessor of Randolph
township. He inherited four hundred twen-
ty acres of land from his father, two hun-
dred forty of which he sold in 1873, retiring
from farm life, and moving to Blooming-
ton. Politically, he was a Republican, and
held the position of city weigher up to the
time of his death. He was a prominent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and died April, 1895. His widow and four
married children survive him.
Seth S. Noble, the gentleman whose
name introduces this review, obtained his
earlier education in the common schools of
Randolph township, and later at the Illinois
Wesleyan University, taking a course in the
classics. On the 5th of January, 1879, he
was united in marriage to Miss Esther Mer-
cer, of Sheffield, Bureau county, Illinois,
and a daughter of John Mercer, who is liv-
ing in Kansas at the age of seventy-eight
years. Four children have come to bless
this union, namely: Cora Belle; Herbert C. ;
Muriel O. and Seth S., Jr. For five years
after his marriage our subject farmed in
Randolph township, and at the expiration
of that time moved to Bloomington, enter-
ing the employ of an engine-builder, and rep-
resenting the concern on the road. He
was thus engaged for two years, and in
1886 accepted a position as fireman of the
city water-works, and in three months was
promoted to the position of assistant engin-
eer, taking charge at night. He filled the
office so satisfactorily, that at the end of
fourteen months he was given the position
of chief engineer, a position which he holds
at the present day. The plant has been
practically rebuilt under his superintend-
ence, only one pump, of the original num-
ber, being retained. There are at the pres-
ent time six engines in operation, and dur-
ing Mr. Noble's connection with the works
there has been an expenditure of over one
hundred thousand dollars for improvements.
The well, from which the water supply is
obtained, has been deepened and a system
of drive wells added, the total pumping ca-
pacity now being estimated at six million
gallons daily. Our subject also has a gen-
eral supervision of the electrical engines in
the same building, owned by the city, and
used for lighting purposes, but does not run
them. This is the largest combined munic-
ipal plant in the state outside of Chicago.
Mr. Noble is also much interested in
raising fancy poultry. He possesses a very
fine home, with extensive grounds, and
raises Plymouth Rock poultry exclusively.
He has taken more prizes at the Illinois
State Poultry Association during the past
five years than any other person, and has
also taken a great many prizes at local ex-
hibits. At the Columbian Exposition he re-
ceived forty-three dollars in premiums. He
has made shipments all over the United
States and Canada, and has twice made ship-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
135
ments to South America, sending from three
to five hundred fowls, and making large prof-
its on the shipments. He has sold single
birds at twenty-five dollars, and now has his
name permanently before the public.
Politically, our subject is a Republican,
who has no desire for public office, prefer-
ring to do his duty as a private citizen, leav-
ing office-seeking for others. He is a mem-
ber of Evergreen City Lodge, No. 265, and
is past grand regent of that lodge, also
present representative of the general lodge,
which met recently at Springfield. He has
been a very active member in the Grand
Lodge, and has always been in favor of a
just retrenchment in the expenses. He is
also deputy in the local lodge, and is a
member of McLean Encampment, No. 29.
At the present time he is junior warden, and
also a member of the Canton uniformed
rank, and a member of Bloomington Lodge,
No. 43, F. & A. M. He is also a member
of the Independent Order of Forresters, and
has held all the offices in the local court,
and is now a representative to the High
Court of the state. Mrs. Noble is a mem-
ber of Grace Methodist Episcopal church.
No man in Bloomington stands higher in
popular esteem. He is courteous, genial,
well informed, alert and enterprising, and
stands to-day one of the leading representa-
tive men of his state.
DAVID R. STUBBLEFIELD, one of the
most progressive, energetic and suc-
cessful agriculturists of McLean county, is the
owner of a large and valuable farm in Dale
township. His methods of farm manage-
ment show deep scientific knowledge, com-
bined with sound practical judgment, and
the results show that "high class" farming
as an occupation can be made profitable as
well as pleasant.
A native of this county, Mr. Stubblefield
was born in Funks Grove township, April
13, 1846, a son of John and Ellisannah
(Houser) Stubblefield. The Stubblefield
family was founded in this country prior to
the Revolutionary war by three brothers,
Edward, William and John, who settled in
Virginia, and it is from the last named that
our subject is descended. On both the pa-
ternal and maternal sides he is eligible to
membership in the order of the Sons of the
American Revolution, as his ancestors bore
an active part in the struggle for independ-
ence.
Robert Stubblefield, the paternal grand-
father of our subject, was born in Halifax
county, Virginia, November 23, 1793, and
came to McLean county, Illinois, in the
fall of 1824, at which time he located
on the south side of Funks Grove, but in
the spring of 1825 moved to the north
side, where he built a cabin and spent
the remainder of his life. He took up quite
a large tract of land, about two thousand
acres, and was one of the large land owners
of the county in early days. He was a
Whig in politics and served as a soldier in
the war of 18 12. His death occurred June
8, 1870, when over seventy-six years of
age. His first wife and the grandmother
of our subject was Sarah Funk, a sister of
Isaac Funk. For his second wife he wed-
ded her sister, Dorothy Funk, while his
brother married another sister.
John Stubblefield, our subject's father,
was born in Fayette county, Ohio, June 4,
1820, and was about four years old when
brought by his father to McLean county,
where amidst pioneer scenes he grew to
136
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
manhood with but Uttle opportunity of at-
tending school. However, he made the
most of his advantages, and by reading and
observation in later years became a well-
informed man. He remained under the
parental roof until he was married, Decem-
ber I, 1842, at the age of twenty-two years
to Miss Ellisannah Houser, a native of In-
diana, who was then living with a married
sister near Atlanta, Illinois. Her father,
David Houser, was born about 1789, in
Maryland and was of German descent.
After his marriage, Mr. Stubblefield rented
a log cabin of Isaac Funk, and during the
two years he resided there he rented and
operated a part of his father's farm. In
the fall of 1846 he entered forty acres of
government land in the northern part of
Funks Grove township and still continues
to make that place his home. Prospering
in his undertakings, he kept enlarging his
farm until at one time he owned nearly
three thousand acres, all of which was
acquired through his own industry, perse-
verance and good management. He has
not only been one of the largest land hold-
ers of the county, but has also been exten-
sively engaged in stock raising, being an
excellent judge of cattle and hogs, the for-
mer of which he sold in Chicago, the latter
in either Pekin or Peoria. In early days he
drove all his stock to market on foot, as
there were no railroads at that time; but
this was only one of the many hardships
the early pioneers were called upon to en-
dure. Like all the other representatives
of the family, Mr. Stubblefield has been a
Whig and later a Republican in politics,
and he has taken quite an active and prom-
inent part in local affairs, serving as county
commissioner when the new court house
was started. He also filled the office of
school treasurer for twenty years. He is
an earnest and consistent member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in which he
has served as steward, class leader and
trustee most of his life, and at times as su-
perintendent of the Sunday school. His
wife died March 3, 1895, and his second
youngest son died at the age of nine months.
The other children are Mrs. Sarah E. Ray-
burn, of Bloomington; David R. , our subject;
George W. ; Phineas M., who is now serv-
ing as deputy county treasurer of this coun-
ty; Henry R., of Bloomington; Mrs. M. F.
Crum, of Cass county, Illinois; Simon P.,
of Funks Grove township; and John W.,
who is living on the home place.
After attending the public schools of
Funks Grove for some time, David R.
Stubblefield took an elective course at the
Wesleyan College, Bloomington, where he
was a student for six terms. Thus well
fitted for the responsibilities of business life,
he returned home and remained under the
parental roof until twenty-four years of age,
when he removed to a farm of one hundred
and sixty acres in Dale township, given him
by his father. He has greatly improved the
place by the erection of a comfortable resi-
dence and good outbuildings, and in 1877
laid the first tile ever put under the ground
in his township for farm drainage. He has
since laid many rods of tile, each year add-
ing to the amount and has converted his
land into one of the best and most desirable
farms of the locality. In 1S86, when the
water failed on his place, he drilled the first
deep well in the township and put in a pump
with a windmill attached, but since then a
great many have been drilled in the neigh-
borhood. He has successfully engaged in
general farming, buying, feeding and ship-
ping cattle, and has added to his farm until
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
137
he now has four hundred and forty acres of
valuable land.
On the 8th of December, 1870, Mr.
Stubblefield was united in marriage with
Miss Matilda Bower, a daughter of Henry T.
Bower, of Dale township. To them have
been born seven children, but two died in in-
fancy. Those now living are Nellie, wife of
Carey Brant, of Dale township; Lawrence
W., who aids his father in the operation of
the home farm; Cora B., who is now attend-
ing the high school of Bloomington; Howard
B. and Lulu P., both at home.
As an ardent Republican, Mr. Stubble-
field takes an active and prominent part in
local politics, and has most creditably and
satisfactorily filled the offices of supervisor
for two years, township assessor one year,
school director twelve years, and school
trustee six years. While filling the last-
named office there was some trouble about
the location of the new school-house, and
the case was brought up for trial. It was
carried to the appellate court at Springfield,
our subject sustaining all the trials with the
exception of the one before the justice of
the peace. Finally, after a great deal of
trouble, the school house was built. Al-
though the heaviest taxpayer in his district,
Mr. Stubblefield has always given his sup-
port to any measure which would improve
or benefit the schools of his community.
He was one of the charter members of the
old Covell Grange, and later joined the
Grange at Stanford, of which he served as
master and which he represented in the
State Grange. He was connected with the
Grange for twenty-four years. Religiously,
he has been a life-long member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church of Covell, to which
his wife and children also belong, and he
ha.s not only given liberally to its support
but has filled the offices of class leader,
steward and Sunday-school superintendent,
having filled the last named position for
eighteen years. He is a man of recognized
ability and stands high in the community
where he has so long made his home. Those
who know him best are numbered among
his warmest friends, and no citizen in Mc-
Lean county is more honored or highly re-
spected. In 1 899 he served as president of
the McLean County Farmers' Institute.
ASA MELCHER, a well-known con-
tracting stair builder and also a general
manufacturer of interior decorative work, of
Bloomington, was born in that city, Sep-
tember 16, 1866, and is a representative of
an old and honored colonial family, which
was founded in this country by Joseph
Melcher, who crossed the Atlantic in 1666
and took up his residence in Brunswick,
Maine, being one of the early Puritan emi-
grants. The family was originally German,
but Joseph was of the third generation born
in England. He engaged in contracting as
a shipbuilder and was a man of great wealth
in those times, bringing with him to this
country twenty thousand dollars in gold.
He married a Miss Perntern, an English
woman, who came to America at the same
time as her husband and lived to the ex-
treme old age of one hundred and four
years. Their son, Noah, also a ship builder,
died in Brunswick, Maine, at the age of one
hundred and two. He was a soldier of the
Revolutionary war, and prior to that time
members of the family had participated in
the Indian and other early wars of this
country.
Abner Melcher, the son of Noah, the
grandfather of our subject, was born at
138
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Weld, Maine, and during his youth learned
the fuller's trade. He married a sister of
Samuel R. Morse, the inventor of the tele-
graph. He continued to reside in his na-
tive place until 1837, when he came to Mt.
Vernon, Illinois, and built a woolen mill, one
of the first in the state. He did general
work along that line, but the venture did
not prove a success, as he was ahead of the
demand. He died at that place at the age
of seventy-five years.
Josiah F. Melcher, our subject's father,
was born in Weld, Jefferson county, Maine,
September 10, 18 19, and was fourteen years
of age when he left that place and came with
his brother Rufus, who was then twenty, to
Illinois, settling at Mt. Vernon, where they
bought one hundred and sixty acres of land
for two hundred dollars in gold. They erect-
ed their house upon the present site of the
court house at that place. After living there
for a number of years, Josiah F. Melcher
went to St. Louis, where he spent eight years
in learning the stair-builder's, house-builder's
and millwright's trades. He remained there
one year longer, and in 185 i came to Bloom-
ington, where he worked for John W. Evans
for seven years. He then embarked in
business for himself as a stair-builder and
general contractor at the same corner where
our subject still continues to carry on the
business. The father conducted a success-
ful business at that place for thirty-nine
years, and did much of the stair-building
and interior finishing throughout the city
and in adjoining towns until his retirement
from business in 1887. He is the author of
two books on Theoretical Astronomy, and
religious writings, and is the inventor of a
number of mechanical tools used in his line
of business, which were patented by him.
In 1845 he married Miss Nancy Elizabeth
Patterson, of Mt. Vernon, who was also a
native of Maine and died in 1877. Of the
ten children born to them, only four reached
years of maturity, these being Newton,
Milton, Freeman and Asa, all stair-builders,
but our subject is the only one now living.
The family has been well represented in all
the wars of this country and Freeman was
among the boys in blue during the Civil
war, enlisting at Danville, Illinois, in Com-
pany C, Sixty-second Illinois Volunteer In-
fantry, when only fourteen years and nine
months of age. He died in the hospital at
Dayton, Ohio. Richard, Henry and Ellen
all died of cholera at St. Louis within one
week.
The literary education of Asa Melcher
was acquired in the city schools of Bloom-
ington. At the age of ten years he began
working in his father's shop, where he served
his apprenticeship, and at the age of twenty-
three found employment with John W.
Evans, for whom he worked five years. On
his father's retirement he took charge of the
business, which he has since successfully
carried on, enjoying a good trade in this
city and neighboring towns, where he has
put in the interior finishings of many of the
best houses. He furnishes employment to
three or four men all the time, and as
occasion demands increases his force. He
devotes his whole time to his business and
has met with excellent success. He owns a
fine home at No. 506 East Walnut street,
where he owns two lots in the finest resi-
dence district of the city, being near Frank-
lin Park.
On the I2th of April, 1S87, Mr. Melcher
was united in marriage with Miss Dora Dyke,
of Bloomington, and to them were born four
children, namely: Stanley R. , who died at
the age of six years; Mildred, Hester and
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
139
Eleanor. Both Mr. and Mrs. Melcher have
been members of the Christian church for
several years. Socially, he is a prominent
member of Damon Lodge, No. 10, K. of P.,
of which he has been chancellor a number
of times, and he is eligible for membership
in the Grand Lodge. His political support
has always been given the men and measures
of the Democratic party, but he has never
been an aspirant for office. His career has
ever been such as to warrant the trust and
confidence of the business world, for he
has ever conducted all transactions on the
strictest principles of honor and integrity.
His devotion to the public good is un-
questioned, and arises from a sincere inter-
est in the welfare of his fellow men.
JAMES P. BUTLER, the well-known
and popular proprietor of the Butler
House, of Bloomington, is a native of Ken-
tucky, having been born in Scott county,
near Frankfort, on the 2d of September,
1838. His parents were William H. and
Hattie Jane (Spicer) Butler, both natives of
the Blue Grass state. The family moved
to Covington, Kentucky, when James was a
child, and in 1855 came to Bloomington,
where for a time the father worked at his
trade, that of the carpenter, and later en-
gaging in the butcher business with his son,
dying in 1861. His wife still lives at the
advanced age of eighty-two years, making
her home with her son, the subject of this
sketch. In her religious views she is a Bap-
tist, and her husband was a Methodist. The
family of Mr. and Mrs. Butler are here
named in order of birth: James P., the
subject of this review; John, a resident of
Bloomington; Thomas, of Chicago; Mrs.
Jane Barksley, of Springfield, Illinois; Eu-
nice, deceased, the wife of Randolph Ar-
lington, of Huron, South Dakota; Mrs.
Alice Harris, of Springfield; Mrs. Anna
Galeman, also of Springfield; and Mrs.
Esther Roberts, of the same city.
James obtained his education at the
schools of Covington, Kentucky, and Bloom-
ington, and learned his trade with Dedrich
Bradner, an old firm of Bloomington.
For a time he worked at his trade, that of
tinner, and then went into the butcher busi-
ness for himself, taking his father, Wm. H.
Butler, into the business, where he remained
until his death. Our subject then sold his
stock and engaged in the grocery and bak-
kery business on Front street. Selling the
grocery business, he entered the police
force, and was captain of the night
force, and at the same time was city col-
lector, and also alderman from the third
ward for two terms. After this time our
subject was elected constable, an office
which he held for two terms, and was dep-
uty sheriff under Mr. Swain. For fifteen
years he has been engaged in the detective
business, and has been successfully em-
ployed on some of the most important crim-
inal cases in the state. He is a man en-
dowed with the strongest individuality, in-
trepid bravery when in the face of most des-
perate situations, and a phenomenal coolness
and presence of mind under all circumstan-
ces. He worked the case that brought out
the evidence in the Zura Burns case of Lin-
coln, Illinois, and demanded the arrest of
O. H. Carpenter. He also furnished the
evidence that caused the death of the mur-
derer of Owen Goodfellow, and a number
of others. Mr. Butler is the proprietor of
the Butler House, and after making the
purchase built a three-story brick addition.
He has done a successful business for the
140
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
past fifteen years, and is the oldest hotel
man, in point of time, in Bloomington.
Mr. Butler and his wife, who was before
her marriage Miss Lizzie Cavanaugh, of
Ottawa, Illinois, are the parents of two
sons, and also have a little adopted daugh-
ter, Myrtle. Major William P. Butler, the
eldest son of our subject, is city engineer,
and was major of the First Squadron, First
Illinois Cavalry. He had been connected
with the engineer corps, and was its cap-
tain at the opening of the Spanish-Ameri-
can war. He entered the United States
service and was sent to Chickamauga, and
after being mustered out of service returned
to the state militia, and was ordered to
Pana, where was given charge of the troops
during the riots among the miners in that
locality. Major Butler married Miss Tillie
Baumback, by whom he has three daugh-
ters: Hazel, Cecil and Orville. He has
held the position of city engineer for the
past eight years, with much satisfaction to
the community. Captain Charles E. But-
ler, the youngest son of our subject, is cap-
tain of Troop G, First Illinois Volunteer
Cavalry, in the United States service dur-
ing the Spanish-American war. At the
present time (May, 1899) is captain of
Troop B, which has been the only troop at
Pana for the past five weeks of the labor
trouble. He has been a member of the
Illinois National Guards for the past four-
teen years, and was second lieutenant of his
company. By his first wife he has one
daughter, Edna. While at Chickamauga,
for his second wife he married Miss May
Brewer, of Bloomington.
Our subject is a member of the Knights
of Pythias, and in his political principles is
a stanch Republican, who has always taken
^n active and prominent part in the support
of his party. He has always taken an
interest in the welfare of the city of his
home, and is considered one of her ablest
citizens. Every enterprise calculated to
promote her interests finds cordial support
at his hands, and he has been an invaluable
factor in her prosperity. He is a man of
scholarly attainments, pleasant genial man-
ner, of easy approach, and possesses the
warm regard of all.
HENRY S. S WAYNE. Among the
prominent men to whom Bloomington
has been a place of residence is Henry
Stewart Swayne, a scientist whose investi-
gations and researches have greatly enriched
the educational department of this city.
For many years he was prominently con-
nected with the active affairs of business life
and thus wielded a wide influence, but in the
field of knowledge his labors were most
effective and their result is immeasurable.
In commercial life he was eminently prac-
tical and manifested a far-seeing judgment
and discrimination that led to prosperity,
but in the realms of mental advancement he
gave to the world an impetus whose power
can never be lost, for each discovery adds to
the sum total of the world's advancement.
His student life naturally prevented him
from mingling greatly with his fellow men,
yet he was a gentleman of broad human
sympathies and by those who knew him well
his companionship was greatly enjoyed.
Henry Stewart Swayne was born in
Columbus, Ohio, June 2, 1845, ^nd was a
representative of an old and honored Amer-
ican family that was founded in the New
World by Francis Swayne, who crossed the
Atlantic with William Penn. The farm up-
on which he settled near Philadelphia is still
-^-^
' ^_y x.r. j-c. CasLS b el^-'^'^
Henry S. Swayne
THE NL\V ,uKK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FOt*N»ATIQN8
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
143
in possession of his descendants. Joshua
Swayne, the grandfather of our subject, re-
moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia, and
there Judge Noah Swayne was born in Cul-
peper county, December 7, 1804. He was
one of the most conspicuous figures in the
history of the jurisprudence of the nation.
His public career extended over a long pe-
riod, and that of no member of the United
States supreme court has been more fearless
in conduct, more stainless in reputation.
He acquired a good literary education in
Waterford, Virginia, after which he studied
law in Warrenton and was admitted to the
bar in 1823. He afterward removed to
Ohio, and in 1825 opened an office in Co-
shocton, that state. From 1826 until 1829
he served as prosecuting attorney of ^i§ .
county which was the beginning of a public
career alike honorable to the state and to
himself. On the Democratic ticket he was
elected to the Ohio legislature, and in 1831
he was appointed United States district at-
torney for Ohio, at which time he removed
to Columbus, capably serving in that posi-
tion until 1 841 1 In 1833 he declined the
office of presiding judge of the common
pleas court. From the time of his retire-
ment from the office of United States district
attorney he engaged in the private practice
of law until appointed, in conjunction with
Alfred Kelly and Gustavus Swan, a fund
commissioner to restore the credit of the
state. He also served on the commission
that was sent by the governor to Washing-
ton to effect a settlement of the boundary
line between Ohio and Michigan, and in
1 840 was a member of the committee to in-
quire into the condition of the blind. The
trial of William Rossane and others in the
circuit court at Columbus, in 1853, for the
burning of the steamboat Martha Wash-
ington, to obtain the insurance, was one of
the most celebrated cases with which he
was connected. He also appeared as coun-
sel in fugitive slave cases, and owing to his
anti-slavery opinions, joined the Republican
party on its formation, liberating at an early
day the slaves he received through his mar-
riage in 1832. In 1862 he was appointed
by President Lincoln a justice of the su-
preme court of the United States, and
served in that high office until 1881, when
he resigned on account of advanced age.
The degree of LL. D., was conferred upon
him by Dartmouth and Marietta Colleges in
1863 and by Yale College in 1865. He died
in New York City in June, 1884. He was
instrumental in shaping the history of the
jii.tion, in forming the Republican party and
rose to an eminence which was a natural
sequence of his noble life and wonderful tal-
ents.
Henry Stewart Swayne, son of the em-
inent jurist, spent his youth in Columbus,
Ohio, and completed his education within
the classic walls of Yale, where he was
graduated with the degree of A. B. He
afterward studied civil engineering and was
employed along that line on the construc-
tion of a railroad in Wisconsin. After per-
fecting himself as a civil engineer, he
turned his attention in another direction,
being for some years engaged in business
in Toledo, Ohio, as proprietor of an ex-
tensive moulding factory. In his business
he displayed marked energy, concentration
and sound judgment, but he was endowed
with the mind of a student and eagerly
availed himself of the opportunity of de-
voting his entire attention to his scientific
researches. When his capital enabled him
to retire from business life he put aside all
care in that direction, and after coming to
144
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Bloomington in 1885 lived practically re-
tired.
Even while in business Mr. Swayne
was deeply interested in scientific subjects
and gave considerable time and thought
thereto. After taking up his residence in
this county he spent many hours daily in
pursuing his investigations in paths that
others had trod and along new and original
lines. He made a specialty of chemistry
and fitted up a splendid laboratory in con-
nection with which he had one of the
largest and most complete scientific libra-
ries in the state. He inherited the strong
mental traits of his father, although they
were manifest in a different department of
knowledge. His mind was keenly analyt-
ical and he was never content until he
had gained the mastery of the subject that
engrossed his attention. His interest, how-
ever, was not confined alone to scientific
study. He endorsed and encouraged every
department of learning, and music had for
him especial charms.
On the second of December, 1875, Mr.
Swayne was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah W. Davis, a lady of superior culture
and the daughter of Judge David Davis,
whose history is familiar to every student
of the annals of Illinois. In his home he
delighted to gather around him his friends,
and though their number was not ex-
tensive they found him a most genial and
entertaining host, and friendship to him was
inviolable. At length his health began to
fail, and he went abroad spending a year
and a half in travel on the continent, but a
few months after his return his death oc-
curred, Novembers, 1893.
Perhaps no better estimate of his life
and character can be given than in the
words of Professor R. O. Graham, dean and
professor of chemistry in the Illinois Wes-
leyan University, who was his intimate
friend and associate and with whom he
spent many hours each week in his fine lab-
oratory in the Durley building. Blooming-
ton, engaged in scientific work. The Pro-
fessor said: "During his entire life in
Bloomington Mr. Swayne had but few inti-
mate acquaintances. Naturally reserved in
disposition, he was not well known by the
citizens generally. To his friends he was
warmly attached, and to these he revealed
his warm-hearted generous nature. He
was constantly engaged in acts of quiet
charity, known only to the recipients and
himself. Many of the poor in Blooming-
ton sorely mourned his untimely death.
Mr. Swayne was among the organizers
of the College Alumni Club, which has
gained so strong hold in the city. He was
enthusiastic in its interests and was made
its second president. Among these men he
was at his best, and he commanded their
highest respect. He was also a great lover
of music and more than one devoted stu-
dent in this line is indebted to him for aid
given in pushing forward their study. He
had great interest in natural science and at
the time of his death had planned improve-
ments on a large scale that would have
made him the possessor of one of the most
extensive and best private laboratories and
scientific libraries in the country.
"When he felt his health failing, he
spent a year in Europe, consulting the best
physicians there. On returning to Bloom-
ington he again took up his scientific studies.
It was but a few months, however, until his
labors were ended. Leaving the laborato-
ry one evening with plans for a full day's
work there on the morrow, he was taken
violently ill and lived but a few days. His
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
145
unexpected death brought great sorrow to
those who knew him best, to whom his gen-
erous and unselfish character had greatly
endeared him." Thus passed away one
whose life, though quiet and unostentatious,
enriched the world, and whose memory re-
mains as a blessed benediction to those who
knew him.
WILLIAM LEAF, a wealthy and re-
tired farmer, residing in the city of
Normal, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, September i, 1823, and is the son
of Edward and Ann (Waterworth) Leaf,
both of whom were natives of England, who
emigrated to this country in 18 18. Edward
Leaf was a soldier in the English army, be-
ing drafted about the close of the war of
18 12. He did not, however, serve in that
war, and therefore came to this country as
a man of peace, and made a good and loyal
citizen. On his arrival here he located with
his family at Philadelphia and there re-
mained a few years, after which he removed
to Canada, but not finding that country
congenial to him, he returned to Philadel-
phia, where he lived until about 1840, when
he removed to Steubenville, Ohio, but only
remained there a very short time, and then
removed to Sharp's Landing, Fulton coun-
ty, Illinois. Here he purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres of timber land (the
prairie at that time being considered worth-
less) and settled down to farming. The
land was cleared and otherwise improved,
and placed under a high state of cultivation.
As time passed, and men became more
familiar with prairie land, they became
aware of its fertility. This proved to be
the case with Edward Leaf. Selling his
Fulton county farm, he moved to Mason
county, Illinois, and purchased three quar-
ter-sections of prairie land, and each son
was given a quarter section. Here Edward
and Ann Leaf passed to their reward, the
former in i86g, at the age of seventy-seven
years, and the latter in 1865, at the age of
sixty-three years. They were pious, upright
people, honest in their dealings with their
fellow men, being members of the Method-
ist Episcopal church, and living in strict ac-
cordance with the teachings and doctrines
of that church. Their family consisted of
six children, four of whom are yet living.
William Leaf was the fourth child in
order of birth. He accompanied his parents
in their various removals, and in conse-
quence his opportunity for securing a liberal
education was not of the best, but he made
the best use of the opportunities given
him. He came to Illinois a youth of sev-
enteen years, and assisted his father in
clearing his Fulton county farm, and soon
after the removal of the family to Mason
county, at the age of twenty-two years,
he commenced life for himself on one of
the quarter-sections purchased by his fa-
ther, and which was deeded to him. With
characteristic industry, he proceeded to im-
prove his tract, engaging in general farm-
ing. He was prosperous in all his under-
takings, and was soon brought into some
prominence in the county which had been
chosen as his home. In 1848 he was com-
missioned by Governor French as captain
of a company of the Ninth Illinois Militia,
for service in the war with Mexico. Hos-
tilities ceasing soon after he was commis-
sioned, he did not enter the field. ^
After more than thirty years of laborious
work upon the farm, in 1876 Mr. Leaf sold
his interests in Mason county and came to
McLean county, making his home in Nor-
146
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
mal. After his removal to the county he
purchased here three farms, one containing
two hundred and eighty-four acres, one of
one hundred and sixty acres, and the third
one of one hundred and twenty acres, to-
gether with his home in Normal. He also
owns a half-section of land in Kansas.
On the 27th of August, 1846, Mr. Leaf
was united in marriage with Miss Mary E.
Couchman, a native of Nicholas county,
Kentucky, born September 24, 1824, and
daughter of Benjamin and Ruth Couchman.
By this union six children were born, five of
whom are yet living: Edward L., Adelia,
Ellen, Seabery F. and Amos. Of these,
Edward is engaged in farming in McLean
county and Seabery F. is a professor at
Lebanon, Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Leaf were consistent mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church until
1868, when Mr. Leaf's mind underwent a
change. A traveling preacher came into
his neighborhood teaching the people that
Jesus Christ should come again as he went,
and again dwell on the earth. This doctrine
he believed to be in accordance with the
teachings of the Savior, and he there-
fore gave heed to the teachings and has
been since that time an earnest and enthu-
siastic advocate of the doctrine. In 1879
he was ordained to the ministry of the First
Day Adventist church, and its doctrine he
faithfully observes and teaches in Bloom-
ington and surrounding country. Politic-
ally, he is a Prohibitionist.
This worthy couple have lived in peace
and harmony, enjoying the good things a
bountiful Father has given them, for more
than fifty years. On the 27th of August,
1 896, they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary
of their wedded life, surrounded by children
and grandchildren, together with a host of
friends, who vied with each other in atten-
tion shown to those they loved and re-
spected, and wishing them a continuance of
their happy life.
JOHN T. HENDERSON, manager of
kJ the Grand Opera House of Blooming-
ton and one of the leading business men of
that city, was born near Eau Claire, Wis-
consin, November 11, i860. His parents,
Matthew and Mary (Edington) Henderson,
were both natives of Scotland, born and
reared near Edinburg. There the father
studied veterinary surgery and successfully
engaged in practice in that city until his emi-
gration to America about 1850. He first
located near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where
he took up government land, and in con-
nection with the work of improvement and
cultivation, he continued to engage in the
practice of his profession. Shortly after
the birth of our subject the family came to
Bloomington, where the father engaged in
practice until called from this life in 1S65.
The wife and mother passed away April 10,
1882. They were consistent members of
the First Presbyterian church, and had the
respect and esteem of all who knew them.
They left four children; namely: Bettie,
now the wife of P. R. Griffith, of Blooming-
ton ; William E. , now deceased ; Thomas E. ,
also a resident of Bloomington ; and John T. ,
our subject.
John T. Henderson attended the public
schools and later the high school of Bloom-
ington, where he was graduated in 1883.
After that he became connected with the
insurance business as a clerk, but soon em-
barked in the same business on his own ac-
count and was not long in building up an
excellent trade. He also organized and put
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
147
in successful operation the Blooniington Fire
Insurance Company and later sold out to
Chicago parties. He sold his other insur-
ance business after it had assumed extensive
proportions. In the meantime he had be-
come interested in real estate in the city,
and after selling his other business he took
the management of the Grand Opera House,
February i, 1897, also acting as lessee of
the same. It is one of the finest equipped
opera houses of central Illinois and the
building alone cost forty-five thousand dol-
lars. Mr. Henderson has met with most
excellent success in its management, al-
though opera houses in other cities have
not paid, but he devotes the greater part of
his time to its business with most gratifying
success and is decidedly the right man in
the right place. He is proprietor of the
Bloomington Bill Posting Company, which
gives employment to three men and has en-
tire control of all the bill boards in the city
of Normal, having over five thousand feet
of signs, a much larger space than most
towns of the size. These are kept full of
other advertisements while not used for the
opera house, and the business has proved
quite profitable. In business affairs Mr.
Henderson has displayed remarkable ability
and sound judgment and is very popular
with his business associates.
Socially, he is a prominent member of
the Bloomington Club, of which he has
been a director for two years; he was also
one of the organizers of the Keystone Club,
and has served as chairman of the board of
directors since its incorporation eight years
ago; and he is also a member of the Bloom-
ington Golf Club, as he is a lover of athlet-
ics. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias
fraternity, and attends and supports the
First Congregational church. Whether in
public or private life, he is always a court-
eous, genial gentleman, well deserving the
high regard in which he is universally held.
SAMUEL C. KIRKPATRICK, who is
living on his fine farm on section 30,
Normal township, about one-half mile from
the corporate limits of the city of Normal,
was born in Woodford county, Illinois,
June 26, 1850, and is the son of Samuel
and Anna (Hougham) Kirkpatrick, the for-
mer a native of Virginia, born in 1806, who
in early childhood moved with his parents,
Thomas and Betsy Kirkpatrick, to Adams
county, Ohio. Soon after their arrival
there his parents died, and he was left an
orphan at a very tender age. In that
county he grew to manhood, and in his
youth learned the blacksmith's trade, which
he continued to follow as long as he re-
mained in Ohio. In 1833 he came to Illi-
nois and located in Woodford county,
where he entered some three hundred or
four hundred acres of land, which was in
its wild state. On that land he erected his
dwelling house, and also built a blacksmith
shop, continuing to work at his trade, in
connection with farming, for a number of
years, and even up to the time of his death
did all his own work in that line.
Before leaving Ohio, in 1831, Samuel
Kirkpatrick was united in marriage with
Anna Hougham, daughter of Runyan (who
died September 4, 1833, aged fifty-three) and
Sarah Hougham (who died October, 1844,
aged sixty years) who were of German origin.
By this union seven children were born, six
of whom grew to maturity and are yet liv-
ing. Sarah died in early childhood. Mar-
garet married Albert Campbell and is now
living in Normal. Melissa J. is the wife of
148
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Joseph H. Sharp, and they are living in
Hudson township. Thomas W. married
Amanda McKee, and is now living in Ne-
braska. Elizabeth Ann married Robert
Benson, and they reside in Bloomington.
Lemon H. married Margaret Kane, and
they reside in White Oak township. Samuel
C. is the subject of this sketch. Both
parents are now deceased, the mother dying
in 1 87 1 and the father in 1873. In politics
he was a Republican, and was honored by
his friends and neighbors with various offi-
cial positions. He was supervisor for a
number of terms, and also served as justice
of the peace for years. In addition to
those positions, he served as assessor, col-
lector, school director and school trustee.
In his business life he was quite successful,
and while starting in life a poor boy, he
succeeded in accumulating a handsome
property.
In his native country our subject grew
to manhood, and in the district schools re-
ceived his education. He remained at home
and assisted in the farm work until after he
attained his majority. On the 23rd of No-
vember, 1 87 1, he was united in marriage
with Miss Amanda Johnston, who was born
in Danvers township, McLean county, April
12, 1851, and the daughter of Charles and
Rebecca Ann (Stevenson) Johnston, the for-
mer a native of New Jersey, born July 3,
1 814, and the latter of Green county, Ohio,
born November 21, 18 13. From his New
Jersey home, a boy of seven years, Charles
Johnston was taken by his parents to Green
county, Ohio, and a short time after their
arrival there the mother died, and two
weeks later the father also passed away.
In that country he grew to manhood, and
was reared to the life of a farmer. His
marriage with Rebecca Ann Stevenson was
there celebrated, and about 1847 they came
to McLean county, and locating in Danvers
township, he there took up a tract of land,
and also purchased another tract. In due
time he became a large land owner in the
county. In 1858 he removed from Danvers
to White Oak township, where he purchased
a large farm and spent the remainder of his
life. His death occurred March 19, 1890,
his wife preceding him some two years,
having died January i, 1888. They were
the parents of eleven children, nine of them
grew to maturity. James S. married Mary
J. Kane, and they reside in Normal. Mary
Ann married Charles Barnes, but is now
deceased. John S. married Martha Havens,
who is now deceased. He is now living in
Hudson, Illinois. Martha J. is the wife of
J. W. Baldridge, and they reside in Texas.
Joseph H. married Cora Nevious, and they
reside near Webster City, Iowa. Catherine
is the wife of Henry Wright, and they re-
side in Oklahoma. Rebecca I. married John
A. Benson, and they are living in Blue
Mound, Kansas. Amanda is the wife of our
subject. Sarah married Alonzo McKinney,
and they are living in White Oak township.
After his marrage, Mr. Kirkpatrick took
his bride to the home of his father, with
whom they lived until the father's death,
after which they remained on the old home
place for nine years, and in 1882 moved to
White Oak township, locating on the John-
ston homestead, which comprised three
hundred and seventy acres, which he had
previously purchased, and there resided un-
til February, 1893, when he purchased the
farm on which he now resides in Normal
township, comprising one hundred and
thirty-one acres of excellent land. He re-
moved to this place in order that he might
give his children the benefit of an education
i
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
149
in the Normal University. His family con-
sists of three children. Valeria Belle is
now the wife of Jesse H. Riley, and they
have had two children, but both are now
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Riley make their
home in White Oak township. Gertrude
Ann is the wife of Charles E. Otto, and they
have one child, Cleda Marie. They make
their home in Normal township. Samuel
C. , the only son, is now a student in Nor-
mal University, which institution both
daughters also attended.
Mr. Kirkpatrick has the reputation of
being one of the best farmers in McLean
county, and has made a specialty of stock
raising, feeding all the grain that he raises,
and even purchasing from others. He us-
ually has on his place about seventy-five to
one hundred head of cattle and two hundred
head of hogs, which he prepares for the
market. He has also given considerable
attention to the raising of Norman draft
horses, and has raised some splendid ani-
mals, selling some as high as five hundred
dollars each.
Politically Mr. Kirkpatrick is a stanch
Republican, with which party he has acted
since casting his first presidential vote for
U. S. Grant, in 1872. While residing in
Woodford county, he served as justice of
the peace, school director and school trustee,
and since residing in McLean county has
been school director and road commissioner.
He is a thoroughly enterprising citizen, one
willing to do all in his power to advance the
material interest of the section in which he
makes his home.
ISAAC J. MITHELL, one of the pros-
perous and enterprising agriculturists of
McLean county, is the owner of a valuable
farm of two hundred and forty acres in Dale
township, which township is also the place
of his nativity. He was born December 2 1 ,
1861, and is a son of John and Lottie (Eng-
lish) Mitchell. His father was a native of
Ohio, and when a young man came to this
county with his father, Isaac Mitchell, Sr.,
who was one of the pioneer settlers of Dale
township. The mother of our subject was
born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and was
the daughter of John English, who also
came to this locality at an early day aud
resided for many years in Dale township.
In the public schools of the neighbor-
hood Isaac J. Mitchell acquired a good
practical English education, and also early
became familiar with all the duties and
labors that fall to the lot of the agricultur-
ist. He assisted his father in the cultiva-
tion of the home farm until twenty-two
years of age, and the following year en-
tered upon an independent business career.
He was then married and for a year rented
and operated a farm belonging to Charles
Schneider, of Bloomington township, dur-
ing which time he made his home with his
grandmother, Mrs. English. Subsequently
he removed to his present home, renting
the land for six years. During that time
he engaged in threshing quite extensively
and in that way combined with his farming
operations, he became enabled to purchase
eighty acres of land on section 20, Dale
township. He has since successfully car-
ried on general farming, and has extended
the boundaries of his place by the addi-
tional purchase of eighty acres, and from
his wife's father they received another
eighty-acre tract, thus making their farm a
valuable property of two hundred and forty
acres. The greater part of this is now
under a high state of cultivation. A hand-
150
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
some country residence is supplemented by
good barns and substantial outbuildings,
and these stand in the midst of well-tilled
fields which yield a golden tribute in return
for the care and labor bestowed upon them
by the owner, who is regarded as one of
the most enterprising, progressive and prac-
tical farmers of the neighborhood.
On the 23d of August, 1886, was cele-
brated the marriage of Mr. Mitchell and
Miss Nettie Rogers, a daughter of Thomas
Rogers, one of the early settlers and well-
known farmers of Dale township. They
now have three children, Maude, Bliss and
Fairy, and have lost one daughter, May,
who died at the age of seven years. Mr.
and Mrs. Mitchell enjoy the warm regard
of many friends, and are widely known in
this locality, where their entire lives have
been passed. They hold membership in
the Methodist Episcopal church, in which
he is serving as steward and as assistant
superintendent of the Sunday-school, being
one of the active workers in the interest of
the church. He has always given his polit-
ical support to the Republican party until
the present year, when he transferred his
allegiance to the Prohibition party. He
has served as township clerk for eight
years and tax collector for four yeas, dis-
charging his duties in a most prompt and
•able manner. His name is on the member-
ship rolls of Stanford Lodge, I. O. O. P.,
the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Court of Honor and the Pioneer Reserve
Society, and by his brethren of those orders
is held in high regard as a worthy repre-
sentative of the benevolent and commenda-
ble principles which underlie the organiza-
tions. He enjoys a most enviable reputa-
tion as an honorable business man, and his
prosperity is well merited.
HENRY CAPEN. Honored and re-
spected by all, there is no man in
Bloomington who occupies a more enviable
position in business and financial circles
than Henry Capen, not alone on account of
the brilliant success he has achieved, but
also on account of the honorable, straight-
forward business policy he has ever followed.
He possesses untiring energy, is quick of
perception, forms his plans readily and is
determined in their execution; and his close
application to business and excellent man-
agement have brought to him the prosperity
which is to-day his.
Mr. Capen was born in Seneca Falls,
Seneca county, New York, January 29,
1832, a son of Luman W. and Sybil (Hos-
kins) Capen, who are represented elsewhere
in this volume. The mother died when he
was only ten years old, leaving two children,
but his sister died young. He commenced
his education in the public schools of Cayu-
ga county. New York, whither the family
removed when he was six months old, and
later he attended the seminary at Ithaca
and a select school at home, completing his
literary training at the age of sixteen years.
He obtained his first knowledge of business
and business methods in his father's country
store at Union Springs, in Cayuga county,
where business was carried on for twenty-
five years under the firm name of Hoskins
& Capen, the senior member being Laban
Hoskins, a maternal uncle of our subject.
In 1856 he accompanied his father on his
removal to McLean county, Illinois. Henry
Capen came into Bloomington, where our
subject was employed one year as a clerk
by R. R. Landon, the largest dry-goods
merchant in the city. He and his father
then formed a partnership and embarked in
the crockery, glassware and china business.
I
HENRY CAPEN.
THL" N:. / YORK
PUBLIC LiBriARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
153
theirs being the first store of the kind in
the city. The only building they could pro-
cure was a little carpenter shop on the east
side of the square, a building that was sim-
ply boarded up. That winter they suffered
much from the cold, but in the spring were
able to rent a better store room on the south
side of the square. Their trade rapidly in-
creased until it assumed extensive propor-
tions, and in the meantime they opened a
branch store at Decatur, of which our sub-
ject took charge in i860. He remained
there for eight years, at the end of which
time the business was sold. In 1869 the
store in Bloomington was also sold, and
father and son purchased almost a half in-,
terest in the Phoenix Savings, Loan & Trust
Company Bank, of which the former became
cashier and the latter assistant cashier.
This was one of the early savings banks of
central Illinois and they continued their
connection with it for seven years, selling
their interests at the end of that time to
Corydon Weed, after which the father lived
retired. Our subject, however, opened an
office of his own and embarked in business
as a loan and investment broker. He still
carries on operations along that line, as the
business has constantly increased until five
persons are now required to attend to the
same. He deals principally in farm mort-
gages and has handled millions of dollars
worth of loans without losing a dollar of
principal of any customer. He gave his
eldest son, Frank, an interest in the busi-
ness in 1890, and his son Fred B. also an
interest in 1896, the firm being now known
as H. Capen & Sons. Mr. Capen is also a
stockholder, director and secretary of the
board of directors of the Peoples Bank; a
stockholder and director of the Co-operative
Stove Company, a very successful enter-
prise; and was one of the original stock-
holders and directors of the Citizens Gas
Light & Heating Company. He is one of
the most progressive, energetic and reliable
business men of the city, and the success
that he has achieved in life is certainly
justly merited.
On the 20th of April, 1858, Mr. Capen
was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta
P. Clark, of Bloomington, where she located
in 1856. Her father was Rev. Luther
Clark, a Presbyterian minister of Dryden,
Tompkins county. New York, and her grand-
father was Rev. John Clark, also a minister
of that denomination. To Mr. and Mrs.
Capen haV^e been born two sons, Frank C.
and Fred B. Frank C. married May John-
son— they have one daughter, Helen. Fred
B. married Eda Maier. Both sons are res-
idents of Bloomington. For thirty-three
years they have resided at No. 501 West
Locust street, where they have a beautiful
and commodious home, surrounded by a
very large and lovely lawn, and here their
many friends are always sure of a hearty
welcome. They have been life-long mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church and were
among the first to unite with the congrega-
tion with which they are now connected.
While a resident of Decatur, he served as
deacon, trustee and treasurer of the Presby-
terian church at that time, and has been
trustee of the church in Bloomington for
nearly thirty years and usher for about the
same length of time; also treasurer for
twenty-one years, having succeeded his fa-
ther, who occupied the same position for
fifteen years. During the erection of their
elegant new house of worship, which was
built at a cost of sixty-five thousand dollars,
he was a member of the building committee
and treasurer of the building fund. With
154
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
two or three others he superintended the
building himself and worked untiringly for
its completion. It is justly considered one
of the finest churches in central Illinois,
being complete in all its appointments, and
much of the credit of this is due to Mr.
Capen's unselfish devotion to the work. As
a citizen he meets every requirement and
manifests a commendable interest in every-
thing calculated to promote the city's wel-
fare. In private life he is sympathetic and
generous, extending a helping hand to the
poor and needy and always ready to aid
those less fortunate than himself. In man-
ner he is pleasant, and all who know him
esteem him highly for his genuine worth.
JOSEPH J. THOMPSON is one of the
prominent young attorneys and busi-
ness men of Bloomington. He is a native
of Warren county, Illinois, born January
14, 1868, near the village of Kirkwood,
then known as Young America. His father,
John W. Thompson, was born near Carrick-
on-the-Shannon, County Roscommon, Ire-
land, and emigrated to America when eight-
een years of age. As a farmer boy he be-
gan life on this side of the Atlantic, work-
ing for a few years for Mr. Goldsmith, of
Orange county, New York, the owner of
the celebrated trotting horse. Goldsmith
Maid. While there he married Miss Hannah
Crofton, a native of Ireland, and soon after-
ward came west, settling near Alexis, War-
ren county, Illinois, where he bought a
small farm. After living there for about
eight years he purchased a larger place near
Young America, in the same county, to the
cultivation of which he devoted his energies
for nine years with most gratifying success.
His ne.xt farm was near Alexis, where he
owned six hundred and forty acres of valu-
able land. The success that he achieved in
life was due entirely to his own well-directed
efforts, and he was able to leave his family
well provided for, having accumulated a
handsome competence. He died in 1894,
at the age of sixty-three years, and his wife
in 1896, leaving a family of ten children.
Joseph J. Thompson began his educa-
tion in the public schools near Alexis, later
attended the high school of Aledo, Mercer
county, Illinois, and the Northern Illinois
Normal College at Dixon, where he took
the literary and civil engineering courses
and was graduated in 1888 with the degree
of C. E. During the following two years
he engaged in teaching school near Alexis,
and then read law in the offices of Matthews
& Peacock, of Monmouth, and Benjamin &
Morrissy, of Bloomington, having come to
this city in 1889. Subsequently he attended
the Wesleyan Law College, where he was
graduated with the degree of LL. B., in
1891, and was admitted to the bar in June
of the same year. Immediately afterward
he formed a partnership with D. D. Dona-
hue, and under the name of Thompson &
Donahue they engaged in general practice
till January i, 1899, when that firm was
dissolved. He has been connected with
some of the most important cases tried in
the city and enjoys an excellent practice.
Mr. Thompson has also been considerably
interested in real estate in the city, and has
bought and sold a number of places to a
good advantage. He bought the Park prop-
erty, which was a brick house and an old
landmark on the corner of West and Chest-
nut streets. Work was commenced on the
place in June, 1897, and by June of the
following year the old house had been torn
down and three handsome modern two-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
155
story residences erected on the large lot, at
a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. This is
one of the most notable improvements in
the city in recent years. His own beauti-
ful home is at the corner of the streets.
For some time he has been agitating pub-
lic improvements for that part of the city,
and has been instrumental in having the
ordinance passed for laying sewers and pav-
ing that district. He is also interested in
other city real estate and in farming lands
in this county and in Indiana, and has been
quite successful in his real-estate opera-
tions.
On the 6th of November, 1889, Mr.
Thompson was united in marriage with
Miss Julia E. McNamara, of Alexis, Illinois,
a daughter of Bartholomew McNamara, a
farmer by occupation. They now have
two children: Aurelia M. and Hannah L.
They are members of Holy Trinity Catholic
church, and his parents were members
of the same denomination, being con-
nected with St. Theresa' church at
Alexis, Illinois. Our subject is an active
member of the Democratic party, has
served as secretary of the county cen-
tral committee and the city committee, and
has been a delegate to all of the conventions
of his party up to the state convention. In
1896 he received the nomination of his
party for state's attorney, and although de-
feated, ran two hundred votes ahead of his
ticket, a fact which plainly indicates his
popularity and the high regard in which he
is uniformly held.
On January i, 1899, Mr. Thompson
dissolved partnership with Mr. Donahue
and purchased the Bloomington Sunday
Eye and Saturday Truth. In addition to
these papers he has started a Saturday
evening paper, called the Saturday Evening
Optic, being the only penny paper pub-
lished in the county. Besides publishing
his papers he devotes considerable time to
the practice of his profession, and is pos-
sessed of the elements of a successful busi-
ness man.
JESSE E. BARCLAY.— More than a
third of a century has passed since
Jesse E. Barclay became a resident of Mc-
Lean county, and for many years he has
been known as one ot the most progressive,
enterprising and practical farmers of Dale
township. The success that he has achieved
in life is due entirely to his own efforts, and
his excellent property is a monument of his
diligence and business ability.
He was born in Madison county, Ken-
tucky, January 4, 1850, a son of William
F. and Mary Jane (Roberts) Barclay. The
father was also a native of Madison county,
was reared to farm life there and after at-
taining his majority married Miss Roberts,
a daughter of Jesse Roberts, one of the
early pioneers of that locality. Mr. Bar-
clay carried on farming in Kentucky, but
was not a slave owner. In 1855 he re-
moved with his family to Boone county,
Missouri, locating near Columbia, where he
carried on agricultural pursuits until 1865.
He was there throughout the period of the
Civil war and both sides used his farm as a
place for forage. Our subject remembers
seeing seventy-five of General Merrill's
horses fed off his father's oats. In 1865
the family came to Allen township, McLean
county, Illinois, where William F. Barclay
parchased a farm and made his home until
his death, which occurred in November,
1895. In his political affiliations he was a
Democrat, and religiously was connected
156
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
with the Christian church, of which his
widow is also a member. She is still living
on the old homestead, and as did her hus-
band, shares in the warm regard of many
friends.
Jesse E. Barclay obtained his prelimin-
ary education in the schools of Missouri,
but the troublous war times prevented his
consecutive attendance in the school room.
He was fifteen years of age when he came
to McLean county with his parents and here
he completed a good, practical education
which well fitted him for business life. He
was early trained to habits of industry and
remained upon his father's farm until
twenty-seven years of age, when he rented
land near by and carried on agricultural pur-
suits on his own account. In 1877 he was
married and soon afterward purchased his
present farm, comprising one hundred sev-
enteen and a half acres in Dale township.
There were no improvements upon the
place save one tree, and the present beau-
tiful maple grove which now shades the
house and lawn was planted by Mrs. Bar-
clay. Mr. Barclay erected a commodi-
ous and substantial residence, good barns
and all the necessary outbuildings, and now
has one of the valuable farms of his town-
ship. In addition to the cultivation of the
fields he is also engaged in stock raising and
in both branches of his business is meeting
with gratifying success.
On the 22d of February, 1877, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Barclay and
Miss Elizabeth Moran, daughter of John H.
and Jemima (Carson) Moran, the former a
native of New York City, and the latter of
Trenton, New Jersey. Her paternal grand-
father was captain of a vessel and was lost
at sea. Her father loyally served his coun-
try in the Mexican war, and in order to
support his family carried on agricultural
pursuits. After his marriage he located in
Trenton, New Jersey, where he made his
home until the 5th of March, 1857, when
he took up his abode in this county, living
on a farm in McLean township. At the time
of the civil war he responded to the Presi-
dent's call for three-years' troops. After
faithfully serving for two years of that time
he was one day detailed to act as guard to
some prisoners on a flat car and was shot
by a bushwhacker, the ball penetratiag his
right lung, passing through the body and
breaking his right arm. On account of the
disability thus occasioned he was honora-
bly discharged, but recovered from his in-
juries and lived until March, 1890, his
death occurring in Quincy, Illinois. His
wife died twenty-eight years ago. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Barclay have been born three
children: Anna, Henry Otto and Howard
Ellis. The elder son is now attending
business college in Bloomington; Anna is a
teacher, and in the winter of 1899 taught the
Covell school.
In politics, Mr. Barclay is a Democrat,
and was once the nominee for road com-
missioner, but his party being in the minor-
ity he was defeated. Both he and his wife
are consistent members of the Christian
church at Stanford, and in the community
where they have so long resided are widely
and favorably known.
JOSEPH B. BARGER is a young man
who has early reached a position of
prominence in the business and literary cir-
cles of Normal. He is the proprietor and
manager of the Morning Call, and is one of
Illinois' native sons, having been born in
Shawneetown, Gallatin county, November
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
157
3, 1874. He is the eldest son of Harrison
C. and Mary (Morse) Barger, the latter a
native of Vermont, and the former of Ken-
tucky, who came to Illinois with his parents
when but a few months old, and was a con-
tinuous resident of the state of his adoption,
until his death in 1880. At the breaking
out of the civil war, in 1861, he enlisted in
Company D, Second Illinois Light Artillery,
known as Dresser's Battery, and served
throughout the war, receiving his commis-
sion as second lieutenant, and shortly being
promoted to the first lieutenancy. He was
with Sherman on his march to the sea, and
in all the battles of the western army. He
continued in the services of his country un-
til the close of the war, receiving an honor-
able discharge. He was at one time asso-
ciated with a partner in the drug and book
business in Shawneetown, and was thus en-
gaged up to the time of his death. The
grandfather of our subject, Joseph B. Bar-
ger, served as sheriff of Gallatin county for
a number of years, and was appointed post-
master at Shawneetown, which position he
held for some years. He was a very promi-
nent figure in Gallatin county, during his
life-time, and was county clerk for twenty-six
years, his son Harrison C. acting as his as-
sistant a portion of the time. Both were
connected with the Masonic Order. In re-
ligious views were Methodists in faith and
practice. The father's death was the result
of an injury received during the civil war.
His wife now makes her home in Normal.
The family consisted of four children,
namely: Joseph B, the subject of this
sketch; Thomas M. ; Helen M. ; and Carter,
deceased.
Joseph commenced his education in
Shawneetown, completing it in Normal,
where be removed in 1883. His first busi-
ness enterprise was in the office of the
Morning Call, as a member of the company,
then known by the firm name of B. S.
Wright & Company. On the 8th of July,
1897, he and his brother Thomas bought
the business, conducting it until January,
1898, under the name of Barger Brothers.
Our subject then became its sole proprietor,
acting also as its manager. The Morning
Call is a semi-weekly paper, and is devoted
principally to the business interests of Nor-
mal and the community. Aside from his
connection with the Morning Call, Mr.
Barger runs in conjunction with Clarence A.
Burner a general job printing business in
which he has been very successful. He is
a man of much penetration and discern-
ment, pleasing in personality, and cordial
in manner. He has improved his talents to
the best advantage, and his present high
standing in Normal is the result. Frater-
nally he is a member of the Modern Wood-
man, and politically, a stanch and unswerv-
ing Republican.
WILLIAM -WALLACE BUTTOLPH.
— The deserved reward of a well-spent
life is an honored retirement from business,
in which to enjoy the fruits of former toil.
To-day, after a useful and beneficial career,
Mr. Buttolph is quietly living at his beauti-
ful home on East Grove street. Blooming-
ton, surrounded by the comfort that earnest
labor has brought him.
He was born in Middlebury, Vermont,
May 2, 1827, a son of David and Almira
(Little) Buttolph. The father was born on
the same farm, in May, 1 787, and was reared
to agricultural pursuits, which he followed
throughout life, becoming the owner of one
of the largest farms in the east, it compris-
158
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ing over four hundred acres. He died upon
that place, June 30, 1869, honored and re-
vered by all who knew him. In connection
with general farming he engaged in sheep
raising. His wife was a native of Shore-
ham, Vermont, and a daughter of Erastus
Little, but as her mother died when she was
quite young, she was reared by her uncle,
Solomon Bissel. Her death occurred in
August, 1840, when our subject was thirteen
years of age. She was a consistent member
of the Congregational church and a most
estimable lady. In the family were six
children, four sons and two daughters.
Mr. Buttolph traces his ancestry back to
Saint Botolph, who died in 680 A. D.,
and was commemorated June 17. He was
educated in Germany with his brother
Adolph, after which they became monks,
and on his return to England, through the
favor of Kmg Ethelmond, he was granted a
site and began building a monastery, it is
thought, near the present site of the Cathe-
dral of Saint Botolph at Boston, England,
which place derived its name from Saint
Botolph 's town. He was a prominent man
and the patron saint of the fishermen. The
relics of Saint Botolph were distributed by
the Bishop of Winchester (A. D. 934-984)
among several monasteries. On the coat of
arms of the family was "All for conscience
sake." The first of the family to come to
America were Thomas and Ann Buttolph,
who landed at Boston in 1635, coming from
Raynham, Norfolk county, England. From
this worthy couple Wendell Phillips was
also descended. Thomas Buttolph was made
a freeman and owned Copps Hill, Boston,
Massachusetts. His descendants in direct
line to our subject were John, George, Eli-
jah and David.
Our subject's grandfather, Elijah But-
tolph, was born in 1742, at or near Salis-
bury, Connecticut, and was a son of George
Buttolph, of Salisbury, who, with three
brothers, was a member of a Connecticut
regiment in the Revolutionary war and was
discharged in New York City as a non-com-
missioned officer. Elijah Buttolph was
three times married and the children by the
first union were reared in Salisbury. His
second wife was Mrs. Deborah Plumley.
He purchased land at Middlebury, Vermont,
and became one of the old and well-known
residents of that place, where he spent his
remaining days. He was the fifth member
of the Congregational church at Middle-
bury and a most excellent man.
William W. Buttolph began his educa-
tion in the district schools near his child-
hood home, and later attended an academy
in Middlebury. He remained on the home
farm, assisting his father in its operation
until he attained his majority. On the 17th
of February, 1850, he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Mary A. Manny, of Middle-
bury, a daughter of Hugh Manny. Five
daughters were born of this union, but
three died when young, these being Mary,
Nelly and an infant unnamed. Those living
are Isadore E., now the widow of Elwood
Brown, whose grandfather fought at the
battles of Concord and Lexington during
the Revolutionary war; and Jennie B. , wife
of Calvin Rayburn, an attorney, of Bloom-
ington, by whom she has two sons, William
B. and Allan B.
After his marriage Mr. Buttolph went to
Lawrence, Massachusetts, where he was
employed on the construction of the Pem-
berton mills, setting up the machinery, and
he also worked in the machinery department
of the old Atlantic cotton mills. Returning
to his native state he located at Rutland and
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
159
entered the Rutland & Burlington Railroad
shops, where he was foreman until coming
west in 1858, being connected with the Illi-
nois Central Railroad for a time. In the
spring of 1861 he came to Bloomington and
for thirteen years had charge of the passenger
car department of the Chicago & Alton
Railroad, during which time great changes
were made in the cars. He invented and
patented a devise for ventilating cars which
was a wonderful improvement at that time,
and was used by the Wabash and Chicago
& Alton roads. He was connected with
the latter road when there was such a de-
mand for cars to convey soldiers south dur-
ing the civil war, and some very poor ones
had to be used. In 1S73 he went to Hearne,
Texas, as master car builder for the Inter-
national & Great Northern Railroad, but
not liking either the politics or the people
of that region, he resigned his position at
the end of a year and returned north. He
then took charge of the freight department
of the Alton Railroad at Bloomington, with
which he was connected until about a year
ago, when he retired from active life to
spend his remaining years in ease and quiet.
He has seen a most wonderful change take
place in the railroad service since he first
became identified with it, and he has held
some very important and responsible posi-
tions with different roads.
Prior to his marriage, Mr. Buttolph was
made a Mason at Union Lodge, No. 2, F.
& A. M., Middlebury, Vermont, and was
one of the charter members of Wade Barney
Lodge, No. 512, F. & A. M., in Blooming-
ton. He assisted in organizing Grace
Methodist Episcopal church, but would not
accept office in the same, although he has
always been one of its active and prominent
jperobers, as is also his wife. In early life
she was an Episcopalian. They are now
identified with the First Methodist Episco-
pal church. Their first home in Blooming-
ton he erected on the west side, but for the
past five years they have lived in East
Grove street. They have a large circle of
friends and acquaintances in the city and
are held in high regard by all who know
them. Mr. Buttolph is an honored mem-
ber of the Sons of the American Revolution.
His two daughters are members of the
Daughters of the Revolution.
DANIEL S. OTTO is extensively en-
gaged in farming in Dale township,
where he owns one hundred and sixty acres
of land, but operates altogether four hun-
dred acres. He was born in Somerset
county, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1856, and
is of German lineage. His parents were
Christian and Catherine (Brennemann) Otto.
Both the paternal and maternal grand-
fathers of our subject were natives of Ger-
many. His father was for some years a
farmer in Pennsylvania, and on emigrating
westward took up his residence in Allin
township, McLean county, where he pur-
chased land and made his home until 1866,
when he removed to Nebraska. He was a
well-known and successful farmer and when
his five sons were all at home they used
five teams in operating an extensive tract
of land, thus carrying on farming on a
large scale. They are both still living.
While in Pennsylvania they held member-
ship in the Omish church, but afterward
united with the Mennonite church.
Daniel S. Otto, of this review, has
spent nearly his entire life in McLean
county. To its public-school system he is
indebted for the educational privileges he
i6o
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
enjoyed. His business training was re-
ceived upon his father's farm, where he
remained, not only until he had attained
his majority but for four years thereafter.
He began farming on his own account in
Allin township, where he remained for two
years. He was married January lO, i88S,
to Miss Mary E. Springer, a daughter of
Peter D. Springer, who is one of the ex-
tensive land owners of McLean county. He
has a valuable farm of two hundred and
forty-five acres, upon which our subject
now resides; one hundred and sixty acres in
Dale township, south of Covell, and a farm
in Allin township, but is living retired in
Stanford. Mrs. Otto was born and reared
in Allin township, and her marriage has
been blessed with three children: Edna,
Lola and Alma.
After his marriage, Mr. Otto operated
his father-in-law's farm in Allin township
until in 1S93, when he purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land in Dale town-
ship. Here he has since resided and in
addition to his property he cultivates his
father-in-law's farm, the two aggregating
four hundred acres. He is accounted one
of the leading agriculturists of his com-
munity and his well-tilled fields at once
indicate to the passer-by the care and cult-
ivation of a progressive owner. He has
about one hundred and ninety acres planted
to corn, and this crop he feeds to his stock.
He is quite extensively engaged in raising
horses, cattle and hogs and is meeting with
a well-merited prosperity. His business
methods are systematic and honorable and
commend him to the confidence of all
with whom he has dealings.
Mr. Otto has taken quite an active in-
terest in public affairs and exercises his
right of franchise in support of the men
and measures of the Democratic party.
The cause of education finds in him a
warm friend and he has done effective
service in this interest while acting as
school trustee and director. He has also
been assessor of the township, and for a
number of years has served on the Dem-
ocratic township committee. Both he and
his wife are members of the Mennonite
church and their many excellent qualities
have gained them the friendship of Dale
township's best people.
GEORGE CHAMPION, the leading
hardware and agricultural implement
dealer of Normal, Illinois, established his
present business here in 1867, almost a third
of a century ago. He was born in Bristol,
England, February 24, 1840, and is the son
of George and Eleanor (Ellis) Champion,
both of whom were natives of the same
country. George Champion, Sr. , for many
years made the city of Bristol his home,
and from that port followed the sea, engag-
ing in business as a merchantman, owning
his own vessels and visiting many foreign
ports. He died on the coast of Africa when
our subject was but four years old. His
wife, who was a daughter of Thomas Ellis,
was born in Bridgewater, England, which
place she made her home until her marriage
with Mr. Champion, when they settled in
Bristol. Thomas Ellis was the owner of a
farm near Bridgewater, and while he gave
a part of his time to overseeing its cultiva-
tion, the greater part of his active life was
spent as superintendent of a large bridge
foundry. His wife was a Miss Bright, an
own cousin of the well-known John Bright.
After the death of her husband, Mrs.
Eleanor Champion remained in Bristol, un-
PUBLIC LjBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
[TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
GEORGE CHAMPION.
MRS. GEORGE CHAMPION.
PUBLIC LiBRARY
ASTDTt, LENOX
TILoWftStt N D A TION S
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
i6s
til her removal to the United States in 1854.
The death of her husband left her with four
children, as follows: Philip, a half brother
of our subject, became a seaman, and was
later a mate on a ship running from Boston
to Vera Cruz, Mexico. He came to the
United States prior to the removal of the
rest of the family. While returning from a
trip to Vera Cruz, his death occurred, and
he was buried at sea, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Athaliah Victoria Bright is now making her
home with her mother in Elgin, Illinois.
George is the subject of this sketch.
Thomas E. is now living in Normal. ; On
coming to the United States, the family lo-
cated at Elgin, Illinois, taking up their home
there on the 4th of October, 1854, and •
there the mother and daughter have since-
continued to reside. She is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church.
The subject of this sketch received his
education at Bristol, and was a graduate of
the military school there. Immediately
after his graduation the family emigrated to
the United States, and soon after their
arrival at Elgin he commenced to learn the
wagon maker's trade, but not liking it, he
soon left his employer and commenced the
carpenters's trade, serving a regular appren-
ticeship. After completing his trade, and
while still residing in Elgin, he worked for
about eighteen mouths as a journeyman.
Not being able, however, to stand the hot
weather, while working out in the sun, he
was compelled to abandon his trade. This
was during the panic of 1857, and the hard
times succeeding, and there was very little
employment for any one. He secured a
situation in a grocery store, and his em-
ployer being taken sick soon after, the
entire charge of the store devolved upon
him for about sixteen months. This was
the first opportunity that he had to demon-
strate his business ability, and his adminis-
tration of affairs was such as to commend
him to his employer and give him a little
reputation in the business world. He con-
tinued in the store until just prior to the
breaking out of the civil war, when he took
a position with the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St. Paul Railroad Company as brakeman,
and later as baggage-master, continuing to
be thus employed for a year and a half. He
remained on the road until he was in a
collision in which the engineer was killed,
which sickpned him of railroad life. He
then wefii into the shops of the Chicago
& Northwestern Railway Company, at
'Cb^fca'goi -working under instruction in the
mae-fame shops. He remamed with the
company until his removal to Normal.
Previous to this, however, in 1862, he en-
listed in Company B, Sixty-ninth Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, for one hundred days,
his regiment being assigned to garrison
duty, guarding rebel prisoners at Fort
Douglas, Chicago.
On the 8th of May, 1867, Mr. Champion
located in Normal, and engaged in the
agricultural implement business, in connec-
tion with the hardware and tinware trade,
having as a partner his brother Thomas, the
firm being known as Champion Brothers.
They were among the first to engage in
business in Normal, and probably the first
in their line. They had a good business
from the start. In 1877 Mr. Champion
purchased the interest of his brother and
has since continued alone, and having one
of the largest establishments of its kind in
this section, and doing a very successful
business. After about seven years, the firm
abandoned the agricultural implement part
of the business, in consequence of the
1 66
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ruinous competition following the organiza-
tion of the granges, or Patrons of Hus-
bandry. During the present year the agri-
cultural implement business was resumed to
give employment to his sons
On the 6th of January, 1869, Mr.
Champion was united in marriage with Miss
Hattie Baker, daughter of Hiram Baker,
whose sketch appears elsewhere in this
work, and by this union there were five
children, one of whom, Ralph, died Novem-
ber 2, 1880, at the age of fourteen months.
Gertie B. married William J. Burwell, and
they have four children — Clyde C. , Alice
May, Harold Baker and Clarence Goodfel-
low. They reside in Normal. George, Jr.,
married Miss Emily Moore and they have
one child, Esther Frances. He is now as-
sociated with his father in business. Frank
Baker married Miss Virgie Fisher, and they
make their home in Bloomington. Myrtle
Marie yet remains at home. Mrs. Cham-
pion was called to her reward December 17,
1898, and her death was calm and sweet,
for "she knew in whom she believeth."
She was a devoted member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, and had the utmost
faith in the teachings of the Divine Master.
In all departments of church work she took
an active interest, and for some time was
president of the Foreign Missionary Soci-
ety of her church. She was also a mem-
ber of Felicity Chapter, No. 387, O. E. S.,
and served as worthy matron of the order.
The chapter passed a series of resolutions
on her death which appeared in the Bloom-
ington Bulletin. The G. A. R. Post, of
Normal, also passed resolutions of condo-
lence, she being an active member of the
Relief Corps. A kind, Christian woman,
she was a friend to all her neighbors, and to
any one who needed her help. Her happy.
cheerful disposition endeared her to a large
circle of friends who deeply mourn her loss.
A loving wife and affectionate mother, her
death is a sad blow to the loved ones left
behind, but they sorrow not as one without
hope, but look forward to the re-union in
the ' ' sweet by and bye. "
Fraternally Mr. Champion is a member
of Normal Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 673, of
which he was master for four years, and
representative to the grand lodge seven
terms, and secretary of the lodge for eleven
years. He is also a member of the Bloom-
ington Chapter, No. 26, R. A. M., and of
DeMolay Commandery, No. 24, K. T. In
each of the latter organizations he has re-
fused office on account of lack of time.
He is a member of the Charles E. Hovey
Post, No. 786, G. A. R., of which he is
past commander. Since attaining his ma-
jority, he has been a strong Republican,
and an earnest advocate of the principles
of the party. He served one term as
alderman of the city, and was three times
mayor of Normal. He also served four
years as clerk of the town council, and was
treasurer of the corporation for three years.
While serving as mayor of the city he was
instrumental in securing the electric light
system for street lighting, and also in mak-
ing a number of needed improvements.
For one year he served as collector of the
city of Normal, and the following year was
deputy collector, during which time he did
all the business connected with the office.
He was also a member of the board of ed-
ucation for five years, two years and a half
of the time being president of the board.
It was during his incumbency of the office
that the primary school building was
erected, and the question of fraudulent
bonds that had been issued by former
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
167
school boards came up for consideration.
It was decided by the board to contest the
payment of the bonds and the question was
carried up and the bonds declared null and
void by the United States District Courts.
Much credit for the result is due to the ef-
forts of Mr. Champion. In addition to the
public offices mentioned in which he has
served, he has filled other important posi-
tions and been on a number of important
committees.
For many years Mr. Champion has been
a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church in Normal, and since his first con-
nection with that body has been a member
of the board of trustees, and for years
chairman of the board. He has also been
secretary of the official board of the church
since the board was orgaized. When the
present house of worship was being erected
he served as chairman of the building com-
mittee, a position which he was well qual-
ified to fill. It is probable that no man in
Normal has been more active in promoting
the business interests and moral welfare of
the community, and where best known he
is held in the highest respect.
GEORGE H. LEWIS, the well-known
and popular agent of the Lake Erie &
Wetern Railroad at Bloomington, was born
near Covington, Franklin county, Indiana,
April 8, 1 864, and is a son of Eber and Eliza-
beth (Stewart) Lewis, natives of Oswego
county. New York, the former born in 18 16,
the latter in 1819. After their marriage,
which was celebrated in Oswego, they re-
moved to Franklin county, Indiana, being
among the early settlers of that locality.
Coming to Illinois in 1858, they located near
Homer, Vermillion county, where the fa-
ther purchased a tract of wild land, and to
its culivation and improvement devoted his
attention for some years. He returned to
Indiana in 1866 and this time took up his
residence near State Line City, Warren
county, where he bought land and engaged
in general farming until called from this
life in 1881. There his widow still resides.
Of the six chidren born to them, our sub-
ject is the fifth in order of birth.
During his boyhood, George H. Lewis
attended the common schools of Vermillion
county. Illinois, and State Line City, In-
diana, and later attended the Mayhew Busi-
ness College, of Danville, Illinois, from
which he was graduated. He also gradua-
ted from Danville high school in 1872,
then known as Danville College, and it was
two years later that he completed the course
in the business college. He attended the
Teachers Normal School at Danville in 1 876,
and after that engaged in school teaching and
farming until the winter of 1879-80. The
following spring he commenced learning
telegraphy at Bismarck, on the Chicago &
Eastern Illinois Railroad, and was connected
with that road as extra and regular opera-
tor until the winter of 1882-3, when he
entered the service of the Lake Erie &
Western Railroad in the office of which he
now has charge. From the 6th of Febru-
ary, 1883, he served as day operator and
also as chief until the summer of 1890,
when he was transferred by the company to
Paxton, Ford county, Illinois, where he
served as agent for nine years. In March,
1 89 1, he was appointed agent at Bloom-
ington, having charge of both the ticket
and freight departments at both places.
Through his able management the interests
of the company have been advanced, he
has built up a large and rapidly increasing
i68
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
business, and his personal popularity in
Bloomington and with many patrons of
the road has done much to promote its in-
terests. Its business here has doubled dur-
ing his incumbency, and never have the af-
fairs of the road been better managed. He
has a number of men working under him,
whose high regard he holds.
On the 3d of October, 1892, Mr. Lewis
was united in marriage with Miss Mary
Malone, of La Salle, Illinois. She died
January 2, 1899, leaving a little daughter,
Nellie.
JAMES W. TAVENNER, supreme sec-
retary and chief deputy of the Pioneer
Reserve Association, is one of the most en-
terprising and progressive business men of
Bloomington. He was born near McCon-
nellsville, Ohio, July 10, 1851, and is a son
of Joseph R. and Nancy J. (Young) Taven-
ner. The paternal grandfather, Jonah
Tavenner, was born in Loudon county, Vir-
ginia, and died at the age of eighty-three.
His wife was born in District of Columbia
and died at age of seventy years. The
grandmother was one of the girls who
strewed flowers in the path of Washington
when he entered Washington, D. C. The
father of our subject was born November
II, 1827, in Loudon county, Virginia, but
was only three years old when taken by his
parents to Ohio, and near McConnellsville
he grew to manhood. He followed farm-
ing continuously until 1859, when he was
elected county recorder of Morgan county,
Ohio, which office he most acceptably filled
for three full terms, but resigned oncoming to
McLean county, Illinois, in December, 1868.
In 1875 he removed to Vermillion county,
Illinois, and in 1883 moved to Blooming-
ton, and in 1885 removed to Normal.
While living in Vermillion county he en-
gaged in farming, also served as township
assessor for three years. For the past
twelve years he has served as assessor of
Normal. Both he and his wife are faith-
ful members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in early life took a very active
part in its work. She is a native of Bel-
mont county, Ohio, born March 23, 1830.
They are the parents of five children,
namely: James W., our subject; Charles
A., also a resident of Bloomington; Emma
J., wife of Frank Fisher, of Duluth, Min-
nesota; and Ella L. , at home, and Eva, who
died in infancy. The family is well-known
and has the respect of all.
James W. Tavenner completed the
course in the public schools of McConnells-
ville, Ohio. After the removal of the fam-
ily to this county, he assisted his father
on the home farm, and accompanied them
on their removal to Vermillion county, re-
turning here in December, 1876, entered
the Normal University with the intention
of preparing himself for a teacher. He en-
tered upon his chosen profession as a teacher
in the district school near his home, in the
meantime continuing his studies at Normal,
where he graduated in 1888. Later he was
principal of the schools at Williamsville for
two years; superintendent of the schools of
Le Roy the same length of time; and prin-
cipal of a ward school in Bloomington for
two years, being offered each position with-
out his solicitation. The' following two
years he was superintendent of the schools
of Chillicothe, this state, and taught in the
Kankakee County Teachers' Institute for
one year, his time being entirely occupied
by educational affairs until June, 1896.
He was then district manager for the
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
169
Northwestern Life Assurance Company, of
Chicago, in McLean county, for one year,
and later became interested in the Univer-
sity Association work of Chicago, which
grew out of the World's Fair, being district
manager for a number of counties until De-
cember, 1897, when he entered fraternal
insurance work in the employ of the Royal
Circle of Springfield.
In April, 1898, Mr. Tavenner organized
the Pioneer Reserve Association, doing, all
the work of getting up the constitution and
by-laws, and all manuscripts and forms per-
taining to the business with the exception of
the medical department. It is a fraternal
order on broad principles and conducted on
safe, progressive business methods, with a
self-controlling reserve fund for the protec-
tion of its members against assessments in
excess of twelve in any one year. Its
officers are among the most prominent and
reliable business men of central Illinois, be-
ing C. F. Koch, mayor of Bloomington,
supreme president; Judge Joseph W. Maple,
of Peoria, vice-president; J. W. Tavenner,
supreme secretary; C. J. Moyer, cashier of
the Corn Belt Bank, of Bloomington, su-
preme treasurer; S. P. Robinson, supreme
counsel; Dr. D. H. Nusbaum, supreme
medical director; Hon. S. S. Tanner, of
Minier, supreme orator; C. C. Hassler, edi-
tor of "The Pioneer" ; E. A. Simmons, of
Pontiac, supreme guide; Edgar Phillips, of
Stanford, supreme guard; and F. G. White,
of Pontiac, supreme sentry. The directors
of the association are T. S. Davy, of Lin-
coln; A. C. Ball, of Pontiac; Duett Brown,
of Normal; Dr. M. S. Marcy, of Peoria; and
D. R. Amerman, J. W. Rodgers and Paul
Finnan, all of Bloomington. The auditing
committee consists of Dr. John R. Barnett,
of Lincoln; Prof. R. O. Graham, of Bloom-
ington; and Hon. A. J. Scrogin, of Lexing-
ton. Although the association was not in-
corporated until September 8, 1898, it has
already met with most remarkable success,
having about one thousand members by the
1st of January, 1899. The success of the
enterprise is due almost wholly to Mr.
Tavenner, who has attested his eminent and
pronounced ability as a business man and
financier. He is a man of keen discrimina-
tion and sound judgment, and has become
an important factor in the business circles
of Bloomington. His strict integrity and
honorable dealing commend him to the con-
fidence of all; his pleasant manner wins him
friends; and he is one of the popular and
honored citizens of Bloomington.
REV. JOSEPH MONTGOMERY, of
Normal, deceased, was born near
Shephardstown, Jefferson county, West
Virginia, on the loth of October, 1812.
His paternal grandfather was Thomas
Montgomery, a native of County Tyrone,
Ireland, and came to this land of freedom
in 1770. He acted as valet to General
Washington during the Revolutionary war,
and at its close removed to Maryland, where
his death occurred. He had one son,
Thomas Montgomery, Jr., who was born
September 9, 1798, and who was a pros-
perous farmer. Thomas Jr. married Miss
Catherine Hawn, by whom he had nine
children, our subject being second in order
of birth. Of these nine children only three
survive. He died June 9, 1831. Joseph,
the subject of this review, was reared and
educated in Wheeling, West Virginia, and
after completing his education taught school
for a time and then entered a general store
as a clerk. His religious inclinations and
170
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
influence and his natural ability, combined
with a midnight dream, influenced his mind
to such a degree that, with the sanction of
the church, he prepared himself for the
work of salvation. His first religious im-
pressions were in his early youth, when he
united with the Methodist Episcopal church,
and his faithfulness and rapid development
soon furnished evidence of his call to the
ministry. In 1S37 he was received on trial
into the Pittsburg Conference, having pre-
viously worked under the presiding elder.
He labored successfully for fifteen years,
with the following charges: Lewis, New
Lisbon, Hanover, Knoxville, Deersville,
Leesburg, Carrollton, Smithfield, St. Clair-
ville, Bridgewater, Salem, and Uniontown,
Pennsylvania. He was ordained deacon at
Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1840, by
Bishop Morris; and ordained elder, in 1841,
by Bishop Roberts, in Pittsburg. In 1852
he was transferred to the Illinois Confer-
ence, where he spent forty-five years, and
where he was residing when called to his
Master. In this conference he served the
following places: Rushville; Waverly; Clin-
ton; Lincoln; Mechanicsburg; Decatur cir-
cuit; Quincy, Fifth street; Payson; Turn
Grove, and Covell; Champaign University
charge; Bement; agent Preachers' Aid So-
ciety; Rantoul; Taylorville; Illiopolis; Mon-
ticello; Areola; Mahomet; and Warrens-
burg. In 1882 he was granted a super-
numerary relation, and in 1883 his relation
was changed to a superanuated one, which
he sustained for thirteen years.
Mr. Montgomery was twice married,
first to Miss Mary Tidd, of Woodfield, Ohio,
in 1833, who died in 1871. Five children
were born to them, two sons and three
daughters. Of this number three are still liv-
ing— Mrs. S. F.Wessel, Mrs. A. B. Sloan and
Reverend Homer B. The second marriage
of our subject was with Miss Rachel Salis-
bury, of Camargo, Illinois, which took place
in 1880. Joseph Montgomery was a great
lover of books, and a forcible and eloquent
preacher, as his work testifies, impressive
and sometimes impassioned. As a pastor
and citizen he was one of God's noblemen.
His convictions of right were strong, and his
courage stanch enough to defend them. He
was an obliging neighbor, an affectionate
husband, a loving father, and was a light
upon God's earth. He was among the old-
est and most respected members of his con-
ference, and only omitted one roll-call in
fifty years. His illness was short and his
end glorious. He departed to his heavenly
rest on the 22d of August, 1896, at the ad-
vanced age of eighty-three years, ten months
and twelve days.
Mrs. Rachel Montgomery, the widow of
our subject, is a daughter of the Reverend
A. Salisbury, and his wife, Cyrena, natives
of Ohio, who were born February 9, 1817,
and September 22, 1822, respectively.
They were married September 20, 1838,
and were the parents of six children, three
of whom are living. Mr. Salisbury was a
minister of considerable prominence in the
Methodist Episcopal church, and took his
first appointment in 1847. He traveled for
ten years, but owing to declining health
was obliged to give up the work of the min-
istry. He died February 6, 1899, having
reached his eighty-third year. His wife,
Cyrena, died July 28, 1888.
DANIEL DUNMIRE, one of the most
prominent and influential citizens of
Normal, was born in Miffiin county, Penn-
sylvania, May II, 1822. His parents were
I
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
171
Henry and Peggy (Swartz) Dunmire, natives
of Pennsylvania. The former was a car-
penter by occupation and also a farmer of
some note. At the time of the civil war he
was a war Democrat in his political convic-
tions, but afterward became a Republican.
He was an energetic and upright man of
business and was always ready to do a good
act and help those who were in need of his
assistance. He and his wife were members
of the Evangelical Association. They lived
to reach the ages of sixty-three and seventy-
three respectively.
The subject of this sketch is the third in
order of birth of ten children, five of whom
are living. He was reared in the town of
his birth and there received his education.
When seventeen years of age his parents
moved to a farm in Cambria county, Penn-
sylvania, where he assisted in clearing a
farm, also engaging in the lumber business.
He remained with his father until reaching
his twenty-fifth year, and after his father's
death, which occurred about that time, pur-
chased a portion of the homestead, contain-
ing two hundred and eighty acres, two hun-
dred and twenty of which were his by right of
inheritance. He also owned and operated a
saw-mill in company with two of his broth-
ers, which, owing to his e.xcellent business
ability and good management, was very
successful. In 1863, finding that he was
overtaxing his strength and breaking in
health, he sold his interests in Pennsyl-
vania and came to Illinois, where he pur-
chased two hundred acres of improved land
in Kappa, and commenced farming on a
very extensive scale. In 1890 he purchased
his charming home in Normal where he
now resides, and where, in his declining
years, he lives on the fruits of an active and
well spent life.
On the 22th of April, 1S47, Mr. Dun-
mire was joined in marriage to Miss Maria
Rorabaugh, who was born in Germany
September 28, 1828, and who came to this
country at the early age of two years. The
ten children of this happy union are here
named in order of birth: Mary, deceased;
Josiah; Lucinda; Wesley; Hattie; Frank;
Oliver, deceased; Sarah; and two who died
in infancy. During his residence in Kappa
Mr. Dunmire was elected to several offices
of trust and responsibility which he filled in
a manner very gratifying to the community.
Among them were the offices of school
director and road commissioner. He is a
strong Prohibitionist and votes for the
downfall of that traffic which dethrones
reason and makes man lower than the brute
creation. Mr. Dunmire is not a member
of any denomination but is attached to that
body which believe in complete holiness.
He is well versed in the scriptures and en-
deavors to practice what they teach, observ-
ing those principles which teach him his
duty, first to God and then to his neighbor.
THOMAS C. CARLISLE, who is now
living a retired life in Chenoa, has for
forty years been a resident of that city, and
this volumn would be incomplete without a
record of his life. During the greater part
of his residence in Chenoa he has been iden-
tified with its interests and has become an
active factor in its development, a pro-
moter of many of its enterprises and a citi-
zen of worth, whose loyalty to the public
welfare is above question. He was born in
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, March 28,
1 83 1, and is a son of Henry and Mary
(Griffin) Carlisle, both natives of Pennsyl-
vania. The former was a gunsmith by oc-
172
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
cupation, and died in his native state. Of
their five children three are living, Thomas
C. being fourth in order of birth. He grew
to manhood in his native village and in the
district school received his primary educa-
tion, which was supplemented by attend-
ance at the Big Spring Academy. After
completing his studies, he taught in various
towns in Pennsylvania, until 1855 when he
came west, locating in Chenoa, where he
also taught for a time. After a residence
of a few years he purchased a farm of
eighty acres near Lexington, where he
worked for six years, teaching school dur-
ing the winter seasons. In i860 he removed
to Lexington where he opened a grocery,
and in 1862 he sold his stock and became
a dealer in meats, traveling between Chenoa
and Lexington for seven years. At the ex-
piration of this time he returned to Chenoa,
where he was employed by the Chicago &
Alton, and the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne
Railroads as baggage-master, and a few
years later as agent for the United States
Express Company.
On the 9th of March, 1854, Mr. Car-
lisle was united in marriage to Miss Rebec-
ca McCahren, who was born in Chester
county, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of
John McCahren. Three children have come
to bless this union, namely: Mary J. L. , Mar-
tha A., and John H., superintendent of the
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, whose pres-
ent position and high business standing are
due to his own enterprise and sterling qual-
ities. Mr. and Mrs. Carlisle are prominent
attendants of the Presbyterian church.
They are ever ready to help those in need
of their assistance, and join in each project
for the elevation and benefit of humanity.
In his political convictions, Mr. Carlisle is
a Democrat, and during the time that he
served the public officially, he has made an
admirable record, giving equal satisfaction
as police magistrate and alderman, serving
in the former capacity for four years and
the latter eight years. He is a man of dis-
tinctive ability, and his character is above
a shadow of reproach. He is upright and just
in all his dealings, and is highly respected by
those who have been at all familiar with his
honorable and useful career.
LYMAN FERRE. Few men were more
prominent or more widely known in
the enterprising city of Bloomington than
this gentleman, who was called to his final
rest December i, 1897. He was an im-
portant factor in business circles and his
popularity was well deserved, as in him
were embraced the characteristics of an un-
bending integrity, unabated energy and in-
dustry that never flagged. He was public-
spirited and thoroughly interested in what-
ever tended to promote the welfare of the
city.
Mr. Ferre was born in Springfield,
Massachusetts, December 16, 1818, and
was a son of Solomon Ferre and Margaret
(Rumrill) Ferre, who were of English and
French descent. The father was born April
9, 1780, and died about 1850, while the
mother was born in 1781, and died August
19, 1844. She belonged to a very old and
prominent family of Springfield, Massachu-
setts. The father of Solomon Ferre was
an officer in the Revolutionary war. In his
native city our subject was educated and
learned the wagon maker's trade, remaining
a resident of that city until coming to
Bloomington, Illinois, in 1840. Here he
worked at his trade for others for three
years, and then opened a shop of his own
LYMAN FERRE.
THE N£\V YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. L=*'°2L„o ,
1 TILD£T» W^t^Of^^^
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
I7S
where the old post office building now
stands, on Front street, near the corner of
Center. He engaged in carriage and wagon
making with his brother Goodman Ferre
and John L. Wolcott until March, 1S43,
when he left the business with those gentle-
men and started for California across the
plains, taking some capital with him. A
friend that was with him on the trip speaks
in the highest terms of praise of his faithful-
ness and reliability in every emergency on
on that long, tedious, and at that time dan-
gerous journey. His California experience
was a very profitable one for those days.
The belt in which he carried his gold dust
is still a valued relic in the family. He
also embarked in the cattle business on a
small ranch. After an absence of aljpi^if^f,
two years he returned to Illinois by way of
the Isthmus of Panama, New Orleans and
St. Louis, where he was quarantined on
account of cholera but finally reached home
in safety, but suffered from the effects of
that dread disease for years afterwards.
On his return to Bloomington, Mr. Ferre
resumed business with the old firm on Front
street and from that time forward he seemed
to prosper in all his undertakings. He very
soon bought out Mr. Wolcott's interest in
the business and soon afterward his brother
Goodman retired from the firm, leaving
him sole proprietor. It was not long before
his old shop at the corner of Front and
Center streets was destroyed by fire, and in
1876 he erected the large fine building
known as the Masonic Temple, the lower
floor of which was rented to the United
States government for a postofBce, the first
contract being for ten years and a renewal
for ten years, or until the new postoffice
building was erected, which was twenty-five
years in all as a postoffice. The entire
9
third floor was devoted to Masonic uses.
He also continued to carry on his business
of carriage and wagon making in his build-
ings adjoining there for many years. In
the meantime Mr. Ferre obtained a charter
from the legislature for a street railway
from Bloomington to Normal, which he
built, owned and operated with a stock
company for several years and finally sold
to Asa H. Moore. He was a large stock-
holder in the Peoples Bank and for twenty-
four years served as one of its directors
and vice-president, filling both positions at
the time of his death. Mr. Ferre in later
years devoted much time in raising fine
horses and Jersey cows. He also imported
fine Percheron horses, of which he had his
fa.rmin Normal township well stocked. He
• ■ -J -m "•' -
was active in getting the street railway es-
tablished in Bloomington, and was the first
president of the corporation, in 1867 and
1868. It was mainly through his efforts
and those of e.x-Governor Routt, of Colo-
rado, that the new court house was built, it
being considered very fine at that time.
He was a man of keen perception, shrewd
and far-sighted, yet honest and reliable in
all things, and he occupied a most enviable
position in business circles both at home
and abroad.
Mr. Ferre married Miss Jeannette E.
Hayes, a native of Granby, Connecticut,
and a daughter of Amasa and Ruth (Jones)
Hayes, who were of old Connecticut stock.
The father died in that state, but in 1840 the
mother came with her children to Blooming-
ton. Mrs. Ferre was born May 28, 1 821, and
by her marriage became the mother of three
children — a son who died in infancy; Adda,
the second child, born in 1852, died in 1873;
Belle, the third child, is the wife of W. G.
Taylor, of Cleveland, Ohio, and has two
176
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
daughters — Gertrude Ferre and Jeannette
Elizabeth. Since 1844 the home of the
family has been on Center street, and there
Mrs. Ferre still resides. She is a member
of the Second Presbj'terian church, to which
Mr. Ferre, though not a member, contrib-
uted liberally. Mr. Ferre was a member of
Bloomington Lodge, No. 43, F. & A. M. ;
Bloomington Chapter, R. A. M., and De
Molay Commandery, K. T. ; and politically
was a prominent representative of the Re-
publican party. His record is that of a man
who, by his own unaided efforts, worked his
way upward to a position of wealth and
affluence. In all places and under all cir-
cumstances he was loyal to truth, honor and
right, justly valuing his own self-respect as
infinitely more preferable than fame and po-
sition. In those finer traits of character
which combine to form that which we term
friendship, which endear and attach man to
man in bonds which nothing but the stain of
dishonor can sever, which triumph and
shine brightest in the hour of adversity —
in those qualities he was royally endowed.
He was always very loyal to the state,
county and city of his adoption.
EDWARD WILSON, one of the prom-
inent farmers of McLean county, re-
siding in Dale township, where he owns
and operates three hundred and sixty acres
of land, was born near Cazenovia, Madison
county. New York, August 6, 1827, a son
of William and Lydia (Main) Wilson.
The father was born in Beddington, Eng-
land, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, in 1791,
and with his parents, Thomas and Mary
Wilson, came to the United States. They
located near Cazenovia on land purchased
of old Peter Smith, making the journey to
that place by way of the Hudson and Mo-
hawk rivers on a flatboat pushed by a pole.
The vessel on which they crossed the At-
lantic was the Mary of Glasgow, then one
hundred years old, and which only made
one trip afterward. In the midst of the
forest near Cazenovia, Thomas Wilson
made a clearing and developed a good farm
upon which he resided for forty years. He
spent his last days there, and his wife
reached the very advanced age of ninety
years, retaining her mental and physical
faculties almost unimpaired to the close of
her life.
The maternal grandparents of our sub-
ject were Thomas and Lydia Main. The
former was a native of Connecticut, whence
he removed to Mount Vernon, Oneida
county, New York, and his death occurred
the same year as Thomas Wilson passed
away — the year 1822, at which time he was
seventy-seven years of age. His wife died
in 1825 at the age of eighty-two years.
William Wilson and Lydia Main were
married December 14, 18 15. For over
forty years the father of our subject en-
gaged in farming in New York and then
came with his family to the west. He
made the journey on a lake steamer from
Buffalo to Chicago, arriving in the latter
city in June, 1844. With his family he
spent the first summer in Joliet, not being
able to go further on account of the im-
passable condition of the roads, caused by
heavy rains. In the fall they arrived in
McLean county, the father purchasing land
and improving a farm in Dale township,
where he made his home until 1858, after
which he lived a retired life in Blooming-
ton. He had accumulated four hundred
and eighty acres of land — a valuable and
very desirable property. He was a sup-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
177
porter of the Baptist church and all of his
family were members thereof. He died
November 19, 1873, and his wife passed
away November 23, 1884, at the age of
eighty-six years. She was a woman of
marked ability, possessed considerable po-
etical talent and was also exceptionally
well informed on political questions, yet
never obtruded her opinions on others.
The church found in her a devoted friend
and her upright life won her the warm es-
teem of all who knew her. Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson were the parents of nine children,
all of whom lived to be more than thirty
years of age. They are Mrs. Samuel
Landers, Mrs. William H. Holmes, who
died in Bloomington; A. Judson; Edward;
Henry C, who removed from Bloomington
to St. Lawrence and is now a resident of
Boston, Massachusetts; Mrs. H. G. Hart,
of Belleville, New Jersey; Mrs. C. W.
Goddard, who died in Brooklyn, New York;
Walter C. , who died in October, 1853; and
Elizabeth, the wife of C. C. Holmes, who
died in July, 1863.
Edward Wilson obtained his preliminary
education in the common schools and sup-
plemented it by study in Cazenovia Semi-
nary. He was early trained to habits of
industry upon the home farm, soon became
familiar with all the duties that fall to the
lot of the agriculturist, and at the age of
eighteen years took charge of the home
farm, displaying marked ability in its man-
agement. In addition to the cultivation of
grains he successfully carried on stock rais-
ing and became one of the prominent young
men of the township. When his father re-
moved from the township he purchased a
part of his present farm, a tract of raw
land, upon which not a furrow had been
turned nor an improvement made. He did
the first plowing and planting there, erected
the first house and in course of time trans-
formed his land into a rich and valuable
tract. He erected a fine and commodious
residence in 1873, and it is surrounded by
a beautiful grove of his own planting. The
Wilson home is one of the most attractive
in the entire township, and the substantial
improvements and well-cultivated fields in-
dicate the enterprise and progressiveness of
the owner.
Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to
Mrs. Louisa McWhorter, a daughter of John
Perry, one of the early settlers of Danvers.
He was born in Philadelphia, February 22,
1800, and when a young man went to Jes-
samine county, Kentucky, whence he came
to Illinois in 1836. By trade he was a
shoemaker and followed that occupation
throughout his entire life. He married
Charity Pew, a daughter of Warren Pew,
who removed from North Carolina to Ken-
tucky at an early day. Mrs. Wilson was
born in the latter state. May 29, 1832, and
was brought by her parents to Illinois on
the 13th of October, 1836. They located
in Dry Grove township, where the father
purchased a farm which he cultivated in
addition to shoemaking until his retirement
from business life. He died in August,
1865, and his wife passed away March 30,
1873. Their daughter Louisa became the
wife of Stephen McWhorter, and by that
marriage had one son, also named Stephen,
who is now one of the prominent citizens
of Omaha, Nebraska, and the treasurer of
the State Agricultural Society.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson began their do-
mestic life upon the farm which has since
been their home, and by their united labors
have made it one of the most beautiful and
desirable country seats in McLean county.
178
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Four children have been born to them:
William W. , who is now connected with the
ALtna. Silk Company, of Chicago; Esther,
now the wife of D. M. Davison, of Blooin-
ington, by whom she has two children,
Edith E. and Edward H. ; and Walter C,
who is still at home; and John P., who died
August 8, 1S72.
As the years have passed and Mr. Wil-
son has successfully prosecuted his labors
he has been enabled to add to his posses-
sions until he is now the owner of three
hundred and si.xty acres of rich and
arable land, all under a high state of
cultivation, and is accounted one of the
most diligent, practical and enterprising
agriculturists of the community. His at-
tention, however, is not directed entirely in
this line, as he has found time to faithfully
serve his fellow townsmen in public office.
He has been township collector, was asses-
sor for six years, and was five times elected
justice of the peace, serving fourteen years.
For over twenty years he was school director
and the cause of education has found in
him a warm friend. The day after attain-
ing his majority he cast his first vote and
since that time has missed but one election.
He has always been a staunch Republican,
has frequently served as delegate to the
conventions and was in one convention that
voted one hundred and fifty-five times for
Judge Tipton. He was one of the early
members of the Grange, and he and his
family all belong to the Baptist church of
Bloomington, to the support of which he
contributes liberally, taking an active part
in its development and upbuilding. He is
esteemed as one of the most reliable farm-
ers of Dale township and well deserves
representation among the leading citizens
of Dale township.
JAMES T. SANDERS, a well-known real-
estate dealer and prominent resident of
Bloomington, Illinois, was born in Millers-
burg, Kentucky, December 24, 1840, and is
a son of James R. and Martha (Smith)
Sanders, both of whom are now deceased,
the former dying in 1872, the latter in 1864,
during the trying days of the civil war.
The father was born in Grafton, New
Hampshire, in 1799, and belonged to an
old New England family. He was a mer-
chant and land owner. The paternal grand-
father, Ezra Sanders, was a life-long resi-
dent of the old Granite state, and was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war, while the
maternal grandfather, Alexander Smith, a
farmer of Millersburg, Kentucky, was a
soldier of the war of 1812 and a son of a
Revolutionary hero. He was a Presbyterian
in religious belief, while the paternal grand-
father was a Swedenborgian, and the par-
ents were members of the Christian church.
Mr. Sanders, of this review, acquired
his elementary education in the schools of
Millersburg, and later was a student in the
Kentucky Wesleyan University, where he
was graduated in 1S59. The following year
he came to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he
learned telegraphy, and continued to follow
it until 1883, being located for two years in
Joliet, the same length of time at Towanda,
and for twenty-five years in Delavan, Illi-
nois, where he had charge of all the Chicago
& Alton Railroad business and of the West-
ern Union Telegraph Company. He was
one of the incorporators of the Delavan
Homestead Building & Loan Association,
with which he was connected until leaving
that place, and for a number of years
served as city clerk. For the past eight
years, however, he has been successfully
engaged in the building and loan business
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
179
in Bloomington, and is interested in other
business enterprises. In his undertakings
he has met with well-merited success, and
is to-day one of the substantial and reliable
citizens of that place. He was made a
Mason in Delavan Lodge in 1872.
On the 19th of September, 1867, Mr.
Sanders was united in marriage with Miss
Sue A. Pike, of Bloomington, and to them
were born four children, two of whom are
now deceased: Augusta died in infancy in
1870; Bernadine M., was born November
28, 1878, died on Memorial day, 1894.
Harold Pike, born November 7, 1871, was
educated in the Delavan schools and the
Normal, Illinois, high school, now with the
Wells Fargo Express Company in Chicago.
Royal W. , born March 25, 1873, was edu-
cated in Delavan schools and was one of the
youngest students who ever graduated at
the State Normal University, being a mem-
ber of the class of 1892, when only nineteen
years of age. He is now professor of math-
ematics and history of the Bloomington high
school. He entered West Point Military
Academy on competitive examination in
1894, but came home on account of the
death of his only sister. Being refused a
re-appointment he lost the advantage of a
military education. He was married Sep-
tember 2, 1897, to Miss Delia Soverns, of
Bloomington.
Mrs. Sanders was born in Casco, Cum-
berland county, Maine, March 25, 1S42, a
daughter of Harrison W. and Susan A. (May-
berry) Pike. Her paternal grandfather was
Noah Pike, farmer of Fryeburg, Maine, and
a descent of John Pike, who came from
England to America in 1637 and located at
Limerick, Maine. The father was born in
Eryeburg, August 19, 1803, and was one of
^ family of twenty-four children, nearly all
of whom lived to old age. He was a very
strong and practical man, as well as a shrewd
and capable business man, and was wholly
self-educated. On Mayberry Hill, Cumber-
land county, Maine, he was married Octo-
ber I, 1837, to Miss Susan A. Mayberry,
who was born February 3, 18 13, a daughter
of Edward and Mary (Johnson) Mayberry.
Her grandfather. Captain Richard May-
berry, served with distinction as an officer
in the Revolutionary war; his record is found
in the Lexington Alarm. The family is an
early and prominent one in New England.
Harrison W. Pike owned and operated a
farm in Casco, Maine, until he and his wife,
accompanied by their seven small children,
came to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1854.
Two brothers, Meshech and Theophilus,
also came with him. Here he engaged in
general merchandising and speculating and
met with excellent success. He was one of
the honored pioneers and highly respected
citizens of Bloomington. His family at-
tended the Unitarian church. He died
June 2, 1877, his wife February 12, 1878.
In their family were seven children, all of
whom were educated here. They are as
follows: Noah H., Sue A., Ivory H., Al-
pheus H., Anna M. and Mary A. All of the
sons were soldiers of the Civil war. Alpheus
H. was the youngest soldier, so far as the
records show, who enlisted at the beginning
of the war, being only fourteen years of age;
he enlisted at the beginning of the strife
and carried a musket all through that strug-
gle. He was for seven months incarcerated
in Andersonville and other war prisons,
while Ivory H. , now a resident of Chicago,
was in the same prisons eleven months.
Alpheus H., died suddenly in the fall of
1892, from the effects of his prison life, then
drawing a pension of $2 a month.
I So
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mrs. Sanders began her education in
the schools of Casco, Maine, and after com-
ing west with the family attended the
Bloomington schools and the State Normal
University, after which she taught success-
fully for six years, the latter part of the
time being employed in the schools of
Bloomington. After marriage, while resid-
ing in Delavan, her time was principally
occupied by home duties, but she has
always been more or less prominently iden-
tified with public affairs along certain lines.
She is a member of the Eastern Star, hav-
ing been state treasurer of the same
for twelve consecutive years; also state
treasurer of the \^'oman's Relief Corps for
one year; later state president of that or-
ganization for one year; at the reunion of
the Grand Army of the Republic held at De-
troit, Mich., in 1S91, she was elected na-
tional president of the order. One year
later presided over the ever memorable con-
vention held at Washington, D. C. ; she
was grand vice templar of the Independent
Order of Good Templars in 1865-6-7, the
highest office a woman could hold in that
order at that time. She has always taken
considerable interest in school work and
everything tending toward reform; but on
coming to Bloomington, November, 1892,
she determined to keep out of public office.
This she could not well do, as the people
knew her ability as a leader and the success
with which she always met in the manage-
ment of public affairs. Her first public
work here was in connection with the With-
er's public library as a trustee, and in 1894
she was elected its president, which office
she most efficiently filled for three years,
and is now serving as secretary of the same.
It is one of the finest libraries in the country
^.nd has an income of seven thousand dollars
a year. Mrs. Sanders has become actively
interested in the Girls' Industrial home of
McLean county, for the care of dependent
and defenseless girls. When she became
connected with it, it was not in a very pros-
perous condition, being twenty-five hundred
dollars in debt. She accepted the position of
president under protest, but knowing the in-
stitution needed heraid, she served as such for
three years and only resigned to accept the
office of secretary — a position hardest to fill.
It has steadily prospered under her able
management, and to-day the home has
three acres of ground belonging to it, all of
which is valued at ten thousand dollars.
At present it has twenty-five inmates, and
many unfortunate girls have been adopted
into good families through its influence.
Being possessed of good business and execu-
tive ability, she has brought the home its
present success. In April, 1898, Mrs.
Sanders was elected a member of the city
board of education, to the duties of which
she is now giving special attention, that she
may be able to meet all criticisms and suc-
cessfully fill the duties and obligations of the
position. She is a prominent member of
the McLean County Historical Society and
has lately prepared for the association a
complete account of the work of the Sani-
tary Aid Society of this county, from 1861 to
1866, or during the war of the Rebellion.
She is also a member of the Daughters of
the Revolution and of the Woman's Club,
of which she is first vice-president and a
member of the executive board. Mr. and
Mrs. Sanders attend and help support the
Unitarian church, of which she is a member,
and in which she has served as superintend-
ent of the Sunday-school for three years.
She is also a member of the board of trus-
tees of the Deaconess Hospital. She has
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
i8r
the credit of being the originator of placing
a flag in every school house, hers the first
school to have a flag wave in McLean county.
The legislature changed the plan to putting
it on the outside, which law was later re-
pealed. She also recommended at Wash-
ington, in her annual address to the National
Womans' Relief Corps, that it be on every
ballot box and on every pulpit in the land,
believing that the Bible, ballot box and flag
should always go together.
WILLIAM R. BACH. Not by gift or
purchase, or by influence can one rise
at the bar, but solely by merit must he gain
his reputation, his ability winning him great-
ness and enabling him to pass on the highway
of life many who perhaps had accomplished a
part of the journey ere he started out. Al-
though still a young man, Mr. Bach has al-
ready arisen to a position of prominence in
the legal profession, and is now most credit-
ably and satisfactorily serving as city attor-
ney for Bloomington.
He was born in that city, December lo,
1 87 1, and is a representative of a prominent
German family. His father, William Bach,
was born near Stuttgart, province of Wur-
temburg, Germany, February 26, 1829, a
son of Rev. Frederick Bach, a Lutheran
minister, who spent his entire life in that
country. In his native city, the father of
our subject grew to manhood and was pro-
vided with excellent educational advantages,
attended the gymnasium and the University
of Stuttgart. When a young man of twenty
years, he came alone to America, on ac-
count of his political beliefs, being one of
those who were known as the " forty-
piners " who came to this country from
Germany. He was of a free disposition
and could not tolerate the form of govern-
ment there existing. He located first in
Philadelphia, where he at once became
connected with newspaper work, as a print-
er in the lithographing department, and
soon learned the trade. There he married
Miss Sophia Ivoehler, who was born in
Gelnhausen, Germany, October 9, 1836,
and when three years old came with her
parents, Conrad and Sophia Koehler, to
America, settling in Philadelphia. Later
her father came to Bloomington, Illinois,
being one of the first Germans to locate
here, where he lived until his death. Leav-
ing his wife and three children, Mr. Bach
enlisted in the Third Pennsylvania Heavy
Artillery during the civil war and was in
the service for three years and a half, being
most of the time at the navy yard at For-
tress Monroe. After the close of the war,
he started westward, finally locating at
Bloomington in 1869. He is a man of con-
siderable breadth of knowledge, having com-
menced the study of law after leaving col-
lege, but he became so disgusted with the
laws of his native land, that he left home,
wealth and everything to become a citizen
of a free country. He is a broad minded
and intelligent man and has for thirty years
been connected with the Bloomington Pan-
tagraph. He has been a Republican in
politics since casting his first vote for Abra-
ham Lincoln in 1S60, but has never been an
aspirant for office. He was reared in the
Lutheran faith, but attends the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which his wife and
family hold membership. There are four
children: Mrs. Louisa Kreiter, of Chicago;
Emma, who is connected with Wilcox
Brothers dry-goods store, Bloomington;
Fred, who has been >yith the P^ntagraph
I»2
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
for twenty-five years; and William R., our
subject.
During liis boyliood and youth William
R. Bacli attended the public and high
schools of Bloomington, graduating from
the latter in the class of 1889 with high
honors. While in school he supported him-
self, and it can be truthfully said of him
that he is a self-made man. After his
graduation he entered the postal service in
the Bloomington post-office, where he served
for four years.
After giving up that position he entered
the Wesleyan Law School, where he was
graduated in 1894, with the degree of
LL. B. During the two years he spent in
that institution he was examined six times,
and in all but one of these he stood the
highest in the class, being beaten at that
time by his present partner, Mr. Livingston.
This partnership was formed in 1894, and
for young men they have been remarkably
successful. Besides having a good general
practice, they are attorneys for the Third
National Bank, and for the county treasurer
and county sheriff. They have tried many
important cases, in most of which they have
been successful. In 1897, and again in
1899, Mr. Bach was elected city attorney
by large majorities over his competitors,
and his duties in that position have been
most arduous on account of the reorganiza-
tion of the city under general law just be-
fore he came into office. He has defended
many cases of damages against the city, and
has succeeded in defending the corporation
from unjust claims and reducing others to
small amounts. He is the youngest man
ever elected to the office he is now so ably
filling.
On the 17th of June, 1898, Mr. Bach
was united in marriage with Miss Lelia
Frances Means, a daughter of Joseph C.
Means, county treasurer of McLean county.
On both sides she is descended from hon-
ored pioneer families. Among her ances-
tors were those who fought for the freedom
of the colonies, and she is now a member
of the Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bach are active
members of the First Methodist Episcopal
church, Bloomington, and he is a member
of the official board and treasurer of the Sun-
day-school, while she is a teacher in the lat-
ter. Politically he is an active worker in the
ranks of the Republican party, and socially
is a prominent member of the Knights of
Pythias, being a district deputy grand
chancellor with supervision over a number
of lodges, and is also a member of the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America; Bloomington
Lodge 400, I. O. O. F. ; Custer Company,
U. R. K. of K. ; Bloomington Lodge, No.
43, F. & A. M. ; Bloomington Chapter, No.
26, R. A. M.;and De Molay Commandery,
No. 24, K. T. Mr. Bach has certainly a
brilliant future before him.
REV. SYLVESTER PEASLEY. We
are now permitted to touch briefly
upon the life history of one who has re-
tained a personal association with the affairs
of McLean county since its early pioneer
days, and one whose ancestral line traces back
the colonial epoch. His life has been one
of honest and earnest endeavor and due
success has not been denied him.
This honored pioneer and prominent
citizen of Randolph township, whose home is
on section 24, was born in Grayson county,
Virginia, August 31, 1823, but has made
his home in this county since the 3d of No-
vember, 1834. His father, Isaac Peasley,
REV. SYLVESTER PEASLEY.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
185
was a native of Wilkes county, North Caro-
lina, and was a son of John Peasley, a
Revolutionary hero, who was born in Guil-
ford county, North Carolina, but at an early
day removed to Wilkes county. On reach-
ing man's estate, Isaac Peasley left the
county of his nativity and went to Vir-
ginia, where he wedded Miss Rachel Hal-
sey, who was born on the farm where their
marriage was celebrated. Her father, Will-
iam Halsey, was a native of New Jersey,
and was also one of the soldiers who
fought so valiantly for American independ-
ence in the Revolutionary war.
For several years after his marriage,
Isaac Peasley continued to follow farming
in Virginia, where three of his children v^fe
born, and in 1834, with a four-horse team
and wagon started for Illinois, accompanied
by his family. Finally after a long and
tedious journey they arrived in Randolph
township on the 3d of November. For two
years Mr. Peasley rented a farm of Jesse
Funk, and then purchased sixty acres lying
partly within Downs and the remainder in
Randolph township. This was composed of
forty acres of prairie land and twenty acres
of timber. In November, 1836, with the
assistance of his neighbors for miles around,
he built a log cabin on the prairie, with an
open fire place, stick chimney, clay jams
and clapboard roof. The family moved in
before the chimney was constructed higher
than the jams, and the following night
there was a snow and sleet storm, after
which it turned cold very suddenly and
everything froze solid. The next morning
the trees, bushes, grasses and everything
was loaded down with glistening ice, making
a beautiful sight, and Mr. Peasley remarked
that it looked like the scenery in polar
regions. As time passed he added to his
original purchase until he had over four
hundred acres of fine farming land which
he placed under excellent cultivation, and
upon that farm continued to make his home
until called from this life in 185 1. His
worthy wife survived him a number of
years.
Sylvester Peasley was a lad of eleven
years when he came with his parents to Illi-
nois, and he contributed his share to the
work of improving and cultivating the home
farm, his educational privileges being neces-
sarily limited, as there were few schools in
this region at that time. He remained with
his father until the latter's death, though he
had previously purchased an improved and
' ■ardioining farm. On the 4th of November,
iS^-y; m Randolph township, he was united
in marriage with Miss Mary Stillman, who
was born and reared in Hunterdon county,
New Jersey, and came to this county at an
early day with her father, Joseph Stillman.
For a year the young couple made their
home with Mr. Stillman and then located
on our subject's land, to the further im-
provement and cultivation of which he de-
voted his energies for many years. He
bought more land and still owns two hun-
dred acres there, upon which he set out one
of the first orchards in the county; also
planted small fruits and ornamental trees
and erected commodious and substantial
buildings, making it one of the best im-
proved places of Downs township. There
he made his home from 1843 until 1895, a
period of fifty-two years. He has given
considerable attention to the breeding of
and dealing in pure-blooded short-horn
cattle and Poland China hogs, and is also
interested in feeding other cattle and hogs
for the market. The trees that he set out
upon his first farm are now two feet and a
1 86
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
half in diameter. He is the owner of
another valuable and well-improved farm of
two hundred and sixty acres, upon which
he built a beautiful modern residence in
1895 — one of the best in Randolph town-
ship— and there he has since made his home,
surrounded by all the comforts and many
of the luxuries of life, which have been ob-
tained through his own well-directed and
energetic efforts. He started out in life for
himself a poor boy, and for seven years
worked as a farm hand for Jesse Funk, at
first only receiving six dollars per month.
By strict economj', fair dealing and unre-
mitting labor, however, he has become one
of the most substantial and prosperous
citizens of his community, and is now the
owner of two valuable farms.
Mr. Peasley lost his first wife in 1863.
To them were born five children, namely:
Granville, who is now engaged in farming
upon the old place in Downs township;
Susan, deceased wife of Eli Barton; Isaac,
who assists in the operation of the home
farm; John, who follows farming on the old
homestead in Downs township; and Mrs.
Hester C. Johnson, deceased. In Downs
township Mr. Peasley was again married, in
April, 1865, his second wife being Mrs.
Susan Crosby, ncc Barclay. She was born
in Mason county, Kentucky, where she first
married Andrew Crosby, who died there,
leaving four children: William, a farmer of
Downs township; Nancy, wife of James
Duckett, of Lyon county, Kansas; Harriet,
widow of Findley Horner, and a resident of
Fonda, Iowa; and James N., who is with
his mother. By the second marriage there
was one daughter, Ella, who died at the
age of three years.
Politically, Mr. Peasley was a Jef^er-
sonian Democrat and east his first presiden-
tial vote for James K. Polk, in 1844, but in
1856 he supported John C. Fremont and
has since been an ardent supporter of the
Republican party and its principles, having
never missed a presidential election since
attaining his majority. He has ever taken
quite an active interest in local politics and
has served in a number of positions of honor
and trust. He was the first postmaster of
Downs, which office he filled for some years;
was a member of the honorable county
board of supervisors fifteen years and presi-
dent of the same two years, and also served
on a great many important committees, be-
ing chairman of the one that erected the
soldiers' monument. For some years he
was township trustee, a member of the
school board and president of the district,
and has been a delegate to numerous
county, state and congressional conven-
tions. His public as well as his private
duties have always been most faithfully and
conscientiously discharged, winning the com-
mendation of all concerned. He was one
of the originators and organizers of the
Bloomington Mutual Fire Insurance Com-
pany; has held the position of president
since the start,' and has signed all the im-
portant papers and policies of this company
for twenty-two years. Under his able man-
agement it has become one of the most
solid and successful fire insurance com-
panies of the county. Always a consistent
Christian gentleman, Mr. Peasley was or-
dained a minister of the Baptist cuurch
when a young man and engaged in preach-
ing a number of years, having pastoral
charge of five churches at different times,
but was forced to give it up on accouut of
throat trouble, though he still takes an
active interest in church work. His con-
tact with his fellow men has broadened his
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
187
nature and views, if such were possible; and
hale, hearty and vigorous at over three-
score years and ten, his faculties undimmed,
his physique but little impaired, many years
of undiminished usefulness yet seem before
him. Such men are rare and the world is
not slow to appreciate them. It is safe to
say that no man in his community has more
or warmer friends than this honored pioneer.
HON. GEORGE W. STUBBLEFIELD.
The history of mankind is replete
with illustrations of the fact that it is only
under the pressure of adversity and the
stimulus of opposition that the best and
strongest in men are brought out and de-
veloped. Perhaps the history of no people
so forcibly impresses one with this truth as
the annals of our own Republic; and cer-
tainly Illinois has many representatives of
this class — men who have started out in life
with little or, at best, limited capital and
have worked their way upward until they
control extensive business interests and
thereby not only advance individual pros-
perity, but also promote the general wel-
fare. This Mr. Stubblefield has done, and
his determined purpose, laudable ambition,
honorable methods and unflagging enter-
prise have brought to him brilliant success,
which is well merited. One of McLean
county's native sons, he is now a leading
and influential citizen of Bloomington and
has gained distinction not only in commer-
cial life, but also as a representative of the
political interests of his community.
Mr. Stubblefield traces his ancestry back
to New England, where the family was
founded at an early day in the history of
America. His great-grandfather com-
manded a Vermont regiment in the Revolu-
tionary war, and with his brave "Green
Mountain Boys " did effective service for the
cause of liberty. The grandfather, Robert
Stubblefield, was born in Halifax county,
Virginia, and loyally served his country in
the war of 1812. He afterward located in
Fayette county, Ohio, where he wedded
Miss Mary Funk, and after the birth of
their four children she died. He then mar-
ried her sister, Sarah Funk, and they emi-
grated to McLean county, Illinois, in 1824.
They became the parents of eight children.
Numbered among the pioneees of this
region they were forced to endure all the
trials and hardships which go to make up
life in a frontier region. The grandfather,
however, became one of the extensive land-
owners of the county, his realty possessions
aggregating two thousand acres. He held
membership in the First Methodist Epis-
copal church, at Funk's Grove, and pre-
vious to his arrival in this state was con-
nected with that denomination.
John Stubblefield, father of our subject,
was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1820,
and was only four years old when brought
by his parents to this county. The Stub-
blefields were the second family to locate
at Funks Grave, where amid the wild
scenes of pioneer life John Stubblefield was
reared. He aided in the arduous^ task of
developing new land, and after attaining to
man's estate began farming on his own
account, which occupation he successfully
followed for many years. He married Elli-
sannah Howser and remained upon the farm
until the death of his wife, which occurred
in 1896. Since that time he has lived a re-
tired life, having acquired a competence
that supplies all his wants. He has been
recognized as one of the leading and influ-
ential citizens of the community for more
i88
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
than half a century, has held many town-
ship offices, including those of supervisor
and treasurer, and filled the latter position
for thirty years. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, has served as
class leader for many years and has been
very active in the church work and a liberal
contributor to its support. In his family
were eight children.
George W. Stubblefield, whose name
introduces this review, was born at Funks
Grove, January 2, 1849, and there acquired
his preliminary education, which was sup-
plemented by a course in the Illinois Wes-
leyan University, of Bloomington. Thus
fitted to meet the duties of life, he entered
upon his business career as an importer of
horses. In this business he was associated
with his father. He was the second man
to bring imported horses into McLean
county, and he made eighteen trips to
France to make purchases. Thus in con-
nection with his father, he engaged exten-
sively in the breeding and sale of fine Perche-
ron and coach horses, and developed an
extensive stock farm, which they conducted
until 1894. They became known to stock
dealers throughout this section of the coun-
try, and the high grade of their horses was
shown by the many premiums which they
won on them at the county and state fairs.
Our subject, however, is a man of re-
sourceful business ability, and his energies
have been devoted to many enterprises
which have been crowned with a high de-
gree of success. While conducting his stock
farm he maintained his residence in the city
and conducted a jewelry store from 1880
until 1892, enjoying a large trade. He also
established a livery stable, and erected a
large brick building to serve as a feed and
sale barn. This has also been a profitable
investment, and he now has a very large
patronage. In 1886 he purchased the Waite
House and has since engaged in the hotel
business. This house has been one of the
leading features of the city for forty years,
and is most popular not only with the trav-
eling public, but is also headquarters for
farming and stockmen. It is conducted
after the most approved manner of modern
hostelries, every modern convenience may
there be found, and the business enjoyed by
the hotel is very large.
Mr. Stubblefield has also been connected
with many interests of a public character,
which have proven of benefit to the city.
He was one of the first trustees of the Dea-
coness Hospital, and has since served in
that capacity. He was chairman of the
building committee when the structure
was erected in 1896, at a cost of eight
thousand dollars, and has ever labored for
the promotion of the noble and humane
work carried on by the institution. He
was also a member of the building com-
mittee and is one of the directors of the
Colesium, — a large armory drill hall, also
used for public meetings and having a seat-
ing capacity of four thousand. It was
erected at a cost of twenty-five thousand
dollars by a private corporation, and largely
resulted from the enterprising and public-
spirited efforts of Mr. Stubblefield, who re-
cognizing Bloomington's need of a large
assembly hall, set to work to secure it.
In his political affiliations he has always
been a stanch Republican, active in sup-
port of the party, and has been chair-
man of the party organization in his ward.
He keeps well informed on the issues of the
day, and is therefore able to meet in argu-
ment those politically opposed to him. In
1896 he was elected to represerit McLean
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
189
county in the state senate, and has been a
very prominent member of the assembly.
He served as chairman of the committee
on penal institutions, in connection with
which he did much work for the state
prisons and reform school. He was a mem-
ber of the railroad committee, and intro-
duced the two-cent-fare bill with the result
that the railroads compromised by placing
the rebate at two cents a mile on the mar-
ket. He was also actively interested in
other bills, and ably represented his constit-
uents and the interests of the common-
wealth.
On the 6th of June, 1888, Mr. Stubble-
field was united in marriage to Mrs. Bettie
M. Stewart, daughter of John S. Savery, of
Bloomington. She is a most estimable
lady and holds membership in the Chris-
tian church. Mr. Stubblefield belongs to
the Methodist Episcopal church and is an
exemplary member of Remembrance Lodge,
No. TT, I. O. O. F. He has filled all the
chairs in that order; has been a represent-
ative to the grand lodge; deputy in the
McLean Encampment, and has held all
the offices in that organization. He is one
of the trustees of the Odd Fellows' building,
which was erected by the lodge, which is
one of the wealthiest in the state. He is a
charter member of the Modern Woodmen
Camp, of Bloomington, was one of its first
officers and has at different times filled all
of its official positions. He is also a charter
member of Towanda Tribe of Red Men,
and belongs to George Rogers Clark Chap-
ter, No. 2, Sons of the American Revolu-
tion, of which he was the first treasurer.
In all the relations of life he has been
true and faithful to the trust reposed in
him, having a broad public spirit and deep
interest in humanity that prompts his active
service in behalf of the general welfare
and of his fellow men. His life has been
one of honest effort and earnest endeavor
and due success has not been denied him.
A man of unswerving integrity and honor,
one who has a perfect appreciation of the
higher ethics of life, he has gained and re-
tained the confidence and respect of his fel-
low men; and is distinctively one of the
leading citizens of Bloomington, with whose
interests he has been so long identified.
MILTON HARNESS, who is now liv-
ing a retired life in the beautiful city
of Lexington, is a native of McLean county,
and was born, June 17, 1844, on the old fam-
ily homestead, just south of Lexington. His
father, Isaac Harness, who was the son of
Jacob and Christiana (Smith) Harness, was
born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, near
Cane Ridge, March 17, 181 1. Jacob Har-
ness was born near the Potomac river,
Virginia, and was a son of Peter Harness,
who, with his family, removed from Vir-
ginia to Kentucky. During the second war
with Great Britain, in 1812, he served his
country as a soldier faithfully and well.
He remained in Kentucky until his son
Isaac was seventeen years old, and then
with his family removed to Fayette county,
Ohio, locating near Washington Court
House. His father, Peter Harness, had pre-
ceded him, and had purchased twelve hun-
dred acres of land, which he proceeded to
divide among his children, giving each of
his sons one hundred acres of timber land.
Jacob at once commenced to clear his tract,
and in due time had established a com-
fortable home, and where his children were
reared. Later he removed to Indiana,
and located on the Wolcott prairie, where
igo
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
he resided some years, subsequently coming
to McLean county, and he and his wife
died near Lexington.
Isaac Harness came to McLean county
in 1832, and was joined four years later by
his parents, who located, however, in Liv-
ingston county, on the Vermillion river,
near Pontiac. After remaining there a
few years they came to McLean county
and settled on a farm one mile south of
Lexington. Isaac Harness was very suc-
cessful in all his business undertakings, and
before his death was the owner of three
thousand acres of land in McLean county,
in addition to which he had some eleven
or twelve hundred acres of land in Mis-
souri and Kansas. At one time he was
extensively engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness with Joseph Greenbaum, a Jew, hav-
ing stores in Lexington and Pontiac. In
1867 he organized the Lexington Bank and
became its president.
Isaac Harness was united in marriage
with Miss Elizabeth Wiley, and twelve chil-
dren were born unto them, of whom seven
grew to maturity, six yet surviving: Will-
iam, a farmer and capitalist of Lexington;
Sarah, wife of George Vandolah, of Lex-
ington; Adaline, wife of B. J. Claggett, of
Lexington; Caroline, widow of W. H. Ken-
nedy, formerly cashier of the Bank of Lex-
ington; Milton, the subject of this sketch;
Emma, wife of Merritt Dawson, of Lexing-
ton, and Arabella, who died at the age of
twenty-three years. The remainder died in
childhood.
The subject of this sketch grew to man-
hood on his father's farm near Lexington,
and in the public schools of the township
received his primary education, finishing his
education in Lombard University, Gales-
burg, Illinois. On attaining his majority he
commenced farming on his own account on
land deeded him by his father, who divided
a large tract of land among his children.
On the 24th of November, 1865, he was
united in marriage with Miss Melissa P.
Kemp, a native of Harrison county, Ohio,
born September 24, 1845, and daughter of
John G. and Margaret (Bricker) Kemp, who
were the parents of eleven children, ten of
whom lived to maturity, five yet surviving:
Julia, wife of Isaac Young, of Gridley; John
J., of Lexington; Enoch, of El Paso, Illi-
nois; Martha, wife of W. C. Mack, of Lex-
ington; and Melissa, wife of our subject.
The parents never came to this county, but
both died in Ohio. Three of their sons,
Shadrach, George and John J., came to
McLean county in 1852, the remainder of
the family coming a little later, Mrs. Har-
ness coming when she was but eleven years
old. She made her home with her brothers
and sisters until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Harness began their do-
mestic life on a part of his father's estate,
in a little log house on the Bloomington
road, and there remained one year and then
moved to another place. They continued
to reside on various parts of the home farm
until taking up their abode in their present
home. In his farming operations, Mr. Har-
ness has met with good success, giving his
attention principally to stock raising, feed-
ing and shipping about ten car-loads of cat-
tle, and several hundred head of hogs per
year.
Two daughters came to bless the union
of Mr. and Mrs. Harness. The eldest, Lola
May, is now the wife of Fremont Hanson,
and they have two children. Pansy May
and Cleon. Mr. Hanson is superintendent
of Swift's Packing Company, of St. Louis,
where he resides with his family. The
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
191
youngest daughter, Georgia D., yet makes
her home with her parents in Lexington.
In politics, Mr. Harness is a Democrat,
and has given earnest support to the men
and measures of that party since attaining
his majority. He has never been an office
seeker, however, preferring to give his at-
tention to his business interests. He has
lately erected an elegant home in the south
part of the city, one of the finest in Lexing-
ton, heated by a furnace and lighted by
electricity, and withal handsomely furnished,
showing the taste of its cultured occu-
pants. Into that home they moved on the
28th of March, 1898, and they are pleased
to entertain their many friends and bestow
that genuine hospitality which is inherent
in those coming from the south, or who are
descendants of southern people. Their
friends are many in both McLean and Liv-
ingston counties, and wherever known they
held in the highest esteem.
TOHN ROBERT GRAY.— It is an im-
»J portant duty to honor and perpetuate
as far as is possible the memory of an emi-
nent citizen — one who, by his blameless and
honorable life and distinguished career, re-
flected credit upon his city and state. His
example, in whatever field his work may
have been done, thus stands an object lesson
to those who come after him, and though
dead he still speaks. Long after all recol-
lection of his personality shall have faded
from the minds of men, the less perishable
record may tell the story of his life and
commend his example for imitation.
Mr. Gray, now deceased, who was for
some years one of the ablest instructors in
music in Illinois and one of the founders of
the Wesleyan College of Music, Bloom-
ington, was born in Belleplain, Marshall
county, Illinois, February 13, i860, and
died March 19, 1893. His wonderful abil-
ity and remarkable qualities were just be-
ginning to be widely known and respected
when his career was terminated by death.
His early youth was passed upon a farm
eight miles southeast of Lacon, and at an
early age he manifested a taste for music,
although he did not begin the serious study
of the art until he came to Bloomington
and attended the Wesleyan University,
where he was a faithful and thorough stu-
dent during the college years of 1876 and
1877. Here he took lessons on the piano
of Mrs. Flora Hunter.
On the 26th of March, 1879, Mr. Gray
was united in marriage with Miss Mary
Emeline Iliff, who was his constant com-
panion in his studies and was associated
with him in his success as a musical in-
structor. In 1 88 1 they went to Germany
to complete their musical education, and
entered the Leipzig Conservatory, one of
the finest conservatories in the world. They
remained abroad five years and studied un-
der the best instructors. In piano they
were under the instruction of Eibenschuetz,
the finest pianist the conservatory ever
secured as a member of its faculty, and
also studied with Weidenbeach, whose abil-
ity to impart to pupils the true musical
spirit of a composition has never been sur-
passed. Richter and Jadassohn, teachers
too well known to need comment, were
their instructors in harmony, counterpoint,
composition, canon and fugue. They were
graduated in the spring of 1886, and upon
their return to America spent some time in
concert work, meeting with marked appre-
ciation and success. They had charge of
the musical department of Eureka College
192
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
for a year, and then came to Bloomington
to direct the work of the Illinois College of
Music, of the Wesleyan University, of
which Mr. Gray was dean for two years.
It was then consolidated with the Bloom-
ington Conservatory, in 18S9, under the
name of the Wesleyan College of Music,
and he was a joint director with Oliver R.
Skinner until his death. Through their
combined efforts the school gained recogni-
.tion and prestige as one of the best and
most thorough institutions of the kind in
the state. By unanimous action of the col-
lege board Mrs. Gray was appointed to fill
the place of her deceased husband.
As a musician Mr. Gray was enthusiastic
and devoted his life and energies to his pro-
fession, being a most thorough and con-
scientious instructor. A work on harmony,
published just before his death, is an ex-
haustive treatise, presenting the matter in
a condensed and concise manner, and may
be considered one of the best text books on
the subject ever written by an American
musician. He was one of nature's noble-
men, respected and loved by all who be-
came intimately acquainted with him. His
character was above reproach, his ideals
were high and noble, and the world is cer-
tainly better for his having lived.
Mrs. Gray has shown herself possessed
in a high degree of good executive ability,
thorough musical knowledge, true teacher's
instinct, and the power to interest and hold
her pupils, all absolutely essential qualifica-
tions for so responsible a position as she
now holds. As a pianist she unites a bril-
liant technique with a sympathetic interpre-
tation. Her pupils become thoroughly im-
bued with her love of music, and are fired
with ambition and courage to press on to
higher attainments. Many of her graduates
occupy prominent musical positions and are
known as thorough musicians and teachers.
She does not rest on past laurels wherever
a fresh idea can be found, a new impetus
gained, a new help obtained that will bene-
fit her students; she spares neither time nor
money. "Growth" is her watchword, and
established communication with the leading
musicians and critics of the country makes
this possible. She possesses an enviable
reputation and holds many strong testi-
monials of her work from leading musicians.
In addition to her marked ability as a mu-
sician and teacher, her beautiful Christian
womanhood has a lasting influence on the
lives of the students fortunate to come with-
in her sphere and find in her a friend.
ROBERT LOUDON, proprietor of the
Eagle Machine Works on North
Main street, Bloomington, is one of the
prominent and successful business men of
the city. Although he has not accumulated
a great fortune, but few lives furnish so
striking an example of the wise application
of sound principles and safe conservatism as
does his. The story of his success is short
and simple, containing no exciting chapters,
but in it lies one of the most valuable secrets
of the prosperity which it records, and his
business and private life are pregnant with
interest and incentive, no matter how lack-
ing in dramatic action, — the record of a
noble life, consistent with itself and its pos-
sibilities in every particular.
Mr. Loudon was born in Kilmarnock,
Scotland, March 18, 1833, a son of Allan
and Jeanette (Kennedy) Loudon, and is a
representative of an old and highly respect-
ed family, who were possessed of all the
admirable traits of that nationality. His
ROBERT LOUDON.
T,1L NE>W YOkK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
I TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
195
paternal grandparents were Hugh and Mar-
garet (Houston) Loudon, in whose family
were nine children, five sons and four
daughters. The grandfather lived in Kil-
marnock, Ayrshire, where he engaged in
business as a shoemaker, and all his sons
learned that trade with the exception of the
father of our subject, who was apprenticed
to learn the machinist's trade with Bailey
Morton, of Kilmarnock, a noted telescope
manufacturer, who had an observatory of
his own mounted with a fine telescope
which drew people from all parts of Scot-
land. While working there Allan Loudon
became very proficient in the manufacture,
of telescopes, one of which was made foir; ■
Sir John Ross and formed part of his outfit
when he went in search of the north pole.
Another is still in use in the observatory at
Dumfries, and stands beside the monument
erected to the memory of the poet Burns.
In 1834 he made a small locomotive, less
than si.x inches each way, which was a
great curiosity. He would often amuse
his visitors by getting up steam and letting
it run about on the floor. Although this
was before the days of railroads the little
engine is still in good running order. Later
Mr. Loudon became master machinist in
the celebrated woolen mills of Blackwood
Brothers at Kilmarnock, but in 1839 he
moved to Dairy, Ayrshire, where he took
charge of the Bridge End Mills. He held
that position for forty years and was noted
for his reliability and fidelity to duty. He
invented an engine governor which was a
great improvement over the old ball gov-
ernor and also a lap machine for wool card-
ing, the first which ever worked success-
fully and is still used. The doubling and
twisting machine for giving a definite num-
ber of twists to each foot of yarn was per-
10
fected by him and our subject together,
and also an improved carding machine
which effected a saving of twenty per cent
in the cost of carding.
He married Jeanette Kennedy, a native
of Old Cumnock, where her ancestors had
lived for many generations. Her parents
were Robert and Margaret (French) Ken-
nedy. Her grandfather French was a fine
violinist and musical composer, who was
known all over the western part of Scotland.
He and Neal Dow (not of Portland, Maine)
often played together at factory balls given
by lords and dukes in that region, and one
jgif, his pieces of sacred music, which bears
: :the name of French, is still sung by congre-
gations in Scotland and is mentioned by
i-RpUlpje Burns in his poems. Our subject
remembers hearing his grandmother relate
that when Mr. French died Neal Dow ap-
propriated all the music and published it as
his own production, reaping all the honor
and profit that should have been her father's.
Allan Loudon died in Dairy, in 1888, and
his wife shortly afterward, in 1890. They
were prominent and active members of the
Presbyterian church and highly respected by
all who knew them. In the family of this
worthy couple were three sons and five
daughters, of whom our subject is the first
in order of birth. Hugh also learned the
machinist's trade at home, and later joined
the English navy as engineer. He became
chief engineer and was in the service four-
teen years, lacking but one year of being
placed on the retired list, when he was sud-
denly taken ill and died in the service.
Allan, after serving an apprenticeship to the
machinist's trade, entered the passenger
steamship service between Liverpool and
New York as engineer, but later engaged in
the hardware business in Dairy, Scotland.
196
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
He once visited our subject in Bloomington,
but is now deceased. Jean is now the wife
of George McFee, a prominent business
man of London, England. Agnes is the
wife of George Cluckey, of Paisley, Scot-
land. Mary, who is not married, lives at
the old home in Dairy. Margaret married
George Craig, of Paisley, and died leaving
two sons. Jeanette died at the old home-
stead in 1897.
Robert Loudon, of this review, attended
school between the ages of four and twelve
years. Being then considered old enough
to do something for himself, he was appren-
ticed to learn silk weaving by a hand loom,
and served three years. As this business
did not suit him, having inherited a love for
machinery, he was apprenticed at the Bridge
End Mills, Dairy, of which his father had
charge, and to a day served his five years,
receiving three shillings six pence a week
the first year; four shillings the second; five
shillings three pence the third; eight shil-
lings, or two dollars, the fourth; and two
dollars and a half the fifth. Out of this he
paid his board and bought his clothes. As
soon as free he made a contract to work for
twenty-three shillings a week, the highest
wages then paid, and during the ten years
he was thus employed he saved some
money.
On the 8th of April, 1S57, Mr. Loudon
was united in marriage with Miss Jennette
Johnston, a daughter of David Johnston, a
representative of an old Sterlingshire family.
They remained in their native land until
after the birth of their oldest son, Allan
Kennedy. The family now numbers si.\
children, namely: Allan Kennedy married
Carrie Gillespie, daughter of William Gilles-
pie and lives in Bloomington. David J., a
resident of Bloomington, married May,
daughter of the late Joseph M. Parke, of
Vera, Illinois, and they have two children,
Grace and Jennette. Robert William, of
Chicago, married Minnie Hodge and has one
son, Hodge. Emma J. and Jennette are
both graduates of the Normal School, of
Normal and spent some time in Germany,
where the former studied German and
French, and the latter music. After stop-
ping for some time in Paris, they returned
to their home in Bloomington, and Emma
is now teaching French and German in the
high school of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Jennette, who is considered the best musi-
cian in this part of the country, always com-
mands a prominent position. She studied
with the best masters and was for three
years a pupil of Scharwenka. She has been
connected as a musical instructor, with the
Universities of Michigan, Iowa, Missouri
and Alabama, and is now with the Wesleyan
Female College of Macon, Georgia. Agnes
Grace is a graduate of the Wesleyan Uni-
versity of Bloomington, and is at home with
her parents.
Mr. Loudon and his little family crossed
the Atlantic on the steamer Edinburg from
Glasgow to New York, and proceeded at
once to Alton, Illinois, where his brother-in-
law, James Johnston, had previously located,
finding employment in the shops of the
Terre Haute & Alton Railroad, now the Big
Four, where he worked as a machinist until
the shops were moved to Litchfield. In
the fall of 1859, in company with two other
gentlemen, he started a machine shop at
Jacksonville, Illinois, but as times were hard
he sold out his interest two years later, and
again entered the railroad shops at Litch-
field, where he worked until 1863. He
then went to Cairo, where in the employ of
the government he had charge of men re-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
197
pairing the dispatch boats running between
Cairo and Vicksburg and up the Yazoo
river.
In December, 1863, Mr. Loudon was
solicited to come to Bloomington and take
charge of the Chicago & Alton machine
shops, where he remained until a new super-
intendent was elected and then resigned.
In 1865 he took charge of the shops of J.
M. Ollis and did a large and successful busi-
ness in manufacturing heavy machinery,
especially coal-shaft machinery. He also
had charge of putting in the machinrey in
the first shaft sunk in Bloomington. In
1876 he became a member of the firm of
Deidrich & Loudon, and embarked in busi-
ness for himself at the Big Four depot; but
a year later the partnership was dissolved
and Mr. Loudon began business alone at
No. 620 North Main street, in a frame shop,
which he erected at that place. The old
creek flowed by his place of business and the
street was still lined with gardens on both
sides. Here he engaged in engine building
and a general machine work. His trade grad-
ually increasing and his financial resources,
also, he at length erected his present build-
ing— a large brick structure, forty-four by
ninety-four feet, three stories in height with
a basement, all devoted to his business.
Here he conducts a general machine shop,
and when the water works was established
he was among the first to start in the
plumbing business and has since added
steam-heating and gas-fitting. In these
lines he carries the finest as well as by far
the largest stock in the city. Purchasing
property on Center street, he there erected,
in 1897, eight flats, the most modern and
up-to-date flats in the city. His own home
is an elegant residence at the corner of
Franklin Square, now the best neighbor-
hood in the city, but when he built there
thirty-three years ago there was but one
house beyond his place. He was one of
the original stockholders of the Corn Belt
Bank, and has encouraged many of the new
and important industries of the city, such as
the Walton Plow factory, the chair factory
and the radiator factory, all of which failed
through bad management. When the Illi-
nois Master Plumbers' Association was
formed, in 1893, Mr. Loudon was elected
its first president, serving during 1893-4,
and in 1895 he served as state vice-presi-
dent of the National Plumbers' Association.
Although Mr. Loudon is to-day one of the
most prominent and successful business
men of Bloomington, his career has not
been helped by accident or luck, or wealth
or powerful friends. He is, in the broadest
sense, a self-made man, being both the
architect and builder of his own fortune.
He and his family are members of the Bap-
tist church, and he also belongs to Bloom-
ington Lodge, No. 43, A. F. & A. M. In
1886, he returned to his old home in Scot-
land, his visit being a joyful surprise to his
aged parents. Besides going over the
scenes of his boyhood, he visited the region
where most of Burns' poems were laid, it
being only fourteen miles from his old home.
He also spent some time in London and
traveled quite extensively through Scotland.
CHARLES E. BISHOP, a veteran of
the war for the union, and one of the
enterprising farmers and stock raisers of
McLean county, resides upon his farm of
one hundred and twenty acres on section
29, Randolph township. He is a native of
the township, and was born January 23,
1 84 1. His father, Martin L. Bishop, was
198
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
a native of Ohio, born in 1818, and was the
son of James Bishop. In his native state
Martin L. Bishop married Miss Matilda
McRoberts, also a native of Ohio, and they
moved to McLean county, Illinois, in the
fall of 1840. Locating in Randolph town-
ship, near the present village of Heyworth,
he purchased a farm and as his means in-
creased added to its area until he was the
owner of over twelve hundred acres. He
was very successful in his business ventures
and was a man of more than ordinary abil-
ity. Abraham Lincoln was his personal
friend and was his attorney in a case against
the Illinois Central Railroad which he won
in the courts at Bloomington. Mr. Lincoln
on more than one occasion visited him at
his home. He died in Bloomington, April
17. 1897. He was twice married, his first
wife dying in 1848. He later married
Margaret E. Glasscock.
Charles E. Bishop is one of four children
by the first union who grew to mature years.
Emeline married, but is now deceased.
Charles E. was ne.xt in order of birth.
William, an ex-sherifl of McLean county,
is now living in Bloomington. Mary was
married, but is now deceased. On the old
home place our subject grew to manhood,
and in the common schools, which he usu-
ally attended in the winter months, he ob-
tained his education. He remained with
his father on the farm until in August, 1862,
when he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-
fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and with
his regiment went to the front. The first
engagement in which he participated was at
Prairie Grove, Arkansas. He was in the
siege of Vicksburg, from which place the
regiment was sent down the river, and later
to Brownsville, Texas. During the time he
was in the service he was on detached duty.
acting as orderly for General Orme and
others. In August, 1865, he was honorably
discharged, after serving his full three years.
The regiment was discharged and mustered
out at Springfield, Illinois.
After receiving his discharge, Mr. Bishop
returned to his home in Randolph town-
ship, and resumed his place on the farm.
On the iith of January, 1866, he married
Miss Frances M. Lake, a native of Sanga-
mon county, born and reared near Spring-
field. In April following they located on
the place where they now reside, renting
the place for the first three or four years
and then purchasing it. In the years that
have passed he has made many improve-
ments on it, in the building of a neat and
substantial residence, the erection of out-
buildings, the planting of fruit and orna-
mental trees, together with such other
improvements that go to make a model
farm of the nineteenth century. It is cer-
tainly one of the best improved farms in
the township.
Mr. and Mrs. Bishop are the parents of
eight children. Nettie is now the wife of
C. C. Bell, and they reside in Marshall
county, Illinois. Edward is married and is
residing in Marshall county, Illinois. Al-
bert is married and is a farmer of Ran-
dolph township. Frank is assisting in carry-
ing on the home farm. Ella is the wife of
John R. Ryburn, of Randolph township.
Jessie is the wife of Frank Munson, of
Randolph township. Ora and Ethel are
yet at home.
Politically Mr. Bishop is a staunch and
life-long Republican. He was in the army
during the presidential election of 1864,
and therefore lost his opportunity to vote for
the re-election of "Honest Old Abe," but
in 18G8 he had the pleasure of voting fo
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
199
General Grant. His last presidential vote
was for William McKinley. His business
interests have always commanded his at-
tention, and he has therefore neither sought
nor accepted office, with the exception of
that of school trustee, an office which he
has held for twenty years. He is a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church at Hey-
worth, and Mrs. Bishop is also a member of
the same church. Fraternally he is a
Master Mason, and he is also a member of
the post of the Grand Army of the Re-
public at Heyworth. He is also a member
of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Socially he and his family are held in high
esteem, and as a life long resident of the
county he is well acquainted and has many
friends, who admire him for his personal
worth as a man and citizen.
LUMAN E. BAKER, an enterprising
farmer and stock raiser, residing on
section 21, Downs township, owns and op-
erates a farm of two hundred acres of well
improved land. He was born in Green
county. New York, under the shadow of the
Catskill mountains, July 7, 1848. His
father, Luman Baker, and his grandfather,
David Baker, were also natives of the same
county and state. The family are of Hol-
land ancestry, but very early settlers in this
country, as the great grandfather of our
subject was a soldier in the Revolutionary
war. Luman Baker was a farmer in Green
county. New York, and there married Miss
Hannah Palmer, a native of Albany county.
New York, and daughter of Gideon Palmer.
They never came west, but lived and died
in Green county.
Luman E. Baker was reared in his native
3tate, where he received fair educational
advantages, but his general knowledge has
been acquired since arriving at maturity.
He remained at home until twenty years of
age, when he came to McLean county, Illi-
nois, and for two years worked on various
farms by the month. He then rented a
farm in Old Town township, where he
remained six years, after which he moved
into Downs township, where he continued
to rent and engage in farming for a number
of years. He then purchased the place
where he now resides, consisting of two
hundred acres, and has here since continued
to reside, engaged in general farming and
stock raising. Since moving to the farm he
has put down about fifteen hundred rods of
tiling, and has made other improvements of
a substantial character. He makes a spe-
cialty of feeding and preparing for the market
both cattle and hogs, and annually ships
from three to five car loads of cattle and
two car loads of hogs.
Mr. Baker was married in the city of
Bloomington, August 25, 1869, to Miss
Margaret M. Price, a native of McLean
county, and daughter of Burl R. Price, who
came to this county with his father, James
Price, who was a native of Virginia, from
which state he removed to Kentucky and
later to Illinois, locating in Bloomington,
where he engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness, having for a time two stores. Burl R.
Price here grew to manhood and married
Miss Elizabeth Bishop, a native of Ohio,
but who was reared in this county, having
come here with her parents when but three
years of age. Mr. Price was by occupation
a farmer, and continued to engage in farm-
ing until his death in 1878. His wife yet
survives him and makes her home in Bloom-
ington.
To Mr. and Mrs, Baker five children
200
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
have been born. Burl P. married and has one
child. He is well educated, and was formerly
a teacher in the county, but is now engaged as
a commercial traveler from Chicago. Carrie
is the wife of W. W. Reser, of Downs town-
ship. Lou is a well-educated young lady,
and for two years taught in the Blooming-
ton city schools. Walter is married, and is
now engaged in the railroad service in the
employ of the Illinois Central Railroad.
Henry C. is a graduate of the Leroy high
school of the class of 1899. He yet remains
under the parental roof.
Politically, Mr. Baker is a Republican,
and cast his first presidential vote for U. S.
Grant in 1872. For every presidential
nominee of the party from that time to the
present he has cast his vote. He has never
sought or cared for office. Mrs. Baker is a
member of the Baptist church in Blooming-
ton. For thirty-one years Mr. Baker has
been a resident of McLean county and
identified with its interests. He has never
regretted making this county his home, and
here he has made many friends, and is well
known in Bloomington and the south part
of the county.
THOMAS F. HARWOOD, deceased,
was one of the honored and highly-re-
spected citizens of Bloomington, and for
many years was prominently identified with
the business interests of the place. His
devotion to the public welfare made him a
valued factor in public life, and by his death
Bloomington was deprived of one of its best
citizens.
Mr. Harwood was born in Orleans coun-
ty. New York, in 1838, a son of Chauncey
and Lovisa (Bogue) Harwood, natives of
Vermont. In early manhood the father
went to New York and located at the present
site of the city of Rochester, traveling the
entire distance on foot from Chittenden,
Vermont, through the dense forests. He
bought a tract of one hundred acres ol land
and built thereon a woolen mill just below
the falls of the Genesee river. While op-
erating that mill, his health failed and he
removed to Orleans county, the same state,
where he purchased property and erected
another woolen factory, which was liberally
patronized by the early settlers for miles
around in all directions. He was one of the
prominent and influential men of his com-
munity, was a stanch supporter of the Whig
party, and a deacon in the Presbyterian
church.
During his boyhood and youth, Thomas
F. Harwood received a good practical edu-
cation and a thorough business training
under the able guidance of his father. In
1858, on leaving home at the age of twenty
years, he came to Bloomington, Illinois,
and established himself in the hardware
business on Centre street, carrying on oper-
ations along that line until 1870, when he
sold out to his brothers and embarked in
the lumber trade under the firm style of
T. F. Harwood & Co., afterward changed to
T. F. Harwood & Sons. Being a man of
keen forsight, sound judgment and good
business ability, he prospered in his under-
takings and succeeded in establishing the
largest lumber business in McLean county.
He was connected with the same until his
death, which occurred in December, 1891.
He was also a stockholder and vice-presi-
dent of the Citizens' Gas Light Company,
and was interested in the Third National
Bank, of Bloomington.
In 1862, Mr. Harwood was united in
marriage with Miss Marietta Keys, of Bloom-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
20I
ington, who is also a native of Orleans
county, New York, and a daughter of H. N.
Keys, formerfy of Connecticut. Three
children were born of this union: Willis S.,
Clara and Henry B. The family is one of
prominence socially, and they have a pleas-
ant home at No. 410 East Douglas street.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Harwood
was a Republican, and for one term he
served as alderman of the third ward. As
a public-spirited and enterprising citizen, he
championed every movement designed to
promote the general welfare, supported ev-
ery enterprise for the public good, and ma-
terially aided in the advancement of all
social, educational and moral interests.
BENJAMIN F. HARBER, treasurer of
the well-known corporation of Har-
ber Brothers' Company, Bloomington, is a
leading representative of the business inter-
ests of the city. Tireless energy, keen per-
ception, honesty of purpose, genius for de-
vising and executing the right thing at the
right time, joined to every-day common
sense, guided by resistless will power, are
the chief characteristics of the man. Con-
nected with one of the leading wholesale
houses in Bloomington, the place that he
occupies in business circles is in the front
rank.
Mr. Harber was born in Waldo town-
ship, Livingston county, Illinois, June 4,
1858, and is a son of David P. and Martha
A. (Nance) Harber. The father was born
in Indiana, November 20, 1821. Early in
the '50s he came to Illinois and first located
in Woodford county, where he engaged in
farming. Later he followed the same occu-
pation in Livingston county until 1S62, be-
coming an extensive farmer, and taking
quite a prominent part in township affairs as
an office holder. In 1862 he removed to
El Paso, where he engaged in mercantile
business until 1872, and then embarked in
the agricultural implement business at Eu-
reka, Woodford county, continuing to carry
on the same until a few years prior to his
death. He was one of the first to engage
exclusively in that trade in his section of the
state, and as a retail dealer met with most
excellent success. In 1853 he married Miss
Martha A. Nance, who was born in Floyd
county, Indiana, September 22, 1829, and
is a daughter of Clement Nance, a repre-
sentative of one of the old families living
near New Albany, Indiana. She is still
living, but Mr. Harber died in Eureka Jan-
uary 29, 1897, honored and esteemed by all
who knew him. He was an active and in-
fluential member of the Christian church,
with which he was officially connected, and
to which his widow also belongs. To them
were born five children, namely: Hattie,
now Mrs. Van Ness, of New Jersey; Edgar
D., president of the Harber Brothers' Com-
pany, who is represented elsewhere in this
work; Benjamin F. , our subject; John W.,
vice-president of the company; and Mina, at
home with her mother.
For his literary education, Benjamin F.
Harber is indebted to the public schools
near his boyhood home, and his first idea
of business and business methods were ob-
tained in his father's implement store at
Eureka, and with which he was connected
as an employe for two years. At the age
of seventeen he was admitted to partner-
ship, the firm name being changed to D.
P. Harber & Sons. They did a successful
retail business in Eureka until 1886, when
the brothers came to Bloomington and es-
tablished business under the style of Har-
202
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ber, Ewins & Company, but two years later
the firm was changed to Harber Brothers.
In 1 89 1 the business was incorporated under
the name of the Harber Brothers' Com-
pany, and the same year they erected the
building which they now occupy on South
Main street and the Lake Erie & Western
Railroad, having a switch track of their
own. Their trade covers Illinois, Iowa and
Indiana, and employment is furnished to a
large corps of traveling salemen, as well as
a good office force. The company are
stockholders in several manufactories from
which they buy goods, and besides this
our subject is a director in the Third Na-
tional Bank of Bloomington!.
On the 8th of December, 188 1, Mr.
Harber was united in marriage ■ with -Miss
Jennie Ewins, a daughter- of John A.'
Ewins, (of whom see sketch elsewhere in
this work), of Danvers, and two chil-
dren have been born of this union: Blanche
and Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Harber both
hold membership in the Christian church,
and he also belongs to the Bloomington
Club. By strict attention to business,
and by the conscientious discharge of all du-
ties imposed upon him, he has been suc-
cessful in life, and has won the respect
and esteem of all.
JOHN G. GEIGER was for many years
actively identified with the agricultural
interests of McLean county and is still one
of the largest land owners in the county,
but for the past six years he has lived retired
from active labor. As a young man of
nineteen years he came to America, and
with no capital, started out in a strange
land to overcome the difficulties and ob-
stacles in the path to prosperity. His
youthful dreams have been realized, and in
their happy fulfillment he sees the fitting re-
ward of his earnest toil.
Mr. Geiger was born in the county of
Germershaem, Bavaria, Germany, April 9,
1833, a son of Frank Peter and Eva Bar-
bara (Wolfe) Geiger, who spent their entire
lives in that country, where the father fol-
lowed the trade of a brick-molder. Our
subject is the only one of their three chil-
dren now living. He was educated in the
public schools of his native land, and later
engaged in farming and lumbering in that
country until 1852, when he crossed the
broad Atlantic, landing in New York. He
proceeded at once to Cincinnati, Ohio,
where he arrived without a penny. He
was not only a stranger in a strange land,
without capital, but he knew nothing of the
English language. He soon found employ-
ment as a gardener and during the year and
a half he worked at that occupation he
managed to save some money. Going to
Butler county, Ohio, he worked there for
two years and a half, and then came to
McLean county, Illinois, in 1856. Here he
was employed by others for three years.
During all this time, Mr. Geiger saved
some of his wages, and in September, 1859,
made his first purchase of land, consisting
of eighty-five acres on section 4, Towanda
township, for which he paid sixteen hundred
dollars. It was then mostly wild prairie
land, which he broke and improved, and
later successfully operated. On the 14th of
September, 1859, he was united in marriage
with Miss Anna Neise, who was born in the
northern part of Bavaria and came to this
country in 1858. They began their domes-
tic life upon his farm, to which he added a
tract of one hundred and twenty-five acres
adjoining it on the north, six years later.
THE NiiW YUi:K
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
JOHN G. GEIGER.
MKS. JOHN G. GEIGER.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
207
A few years afterward he bought one hun-
dred and sixty acres more, and successfully
operated both farms, being engaged in gen-
eral farming and stock-raising. Success at-
tended his efforts and he later bought an-
other tract of one hundred and sixty acres
on section 24, Towanda township, and also
added eighty-six acres to the old homestead
in the same township. In 1893 he pur-
chased three hundred and twenty acres in
Money Creek township for which he paid
twenty-seven thousand dollars. He has
other land equally good and now owns nine
hundred and forty acres, which is worth
more than one hundred dollars per acre.
With the exception of five acres of timber
land, this is all under a high state of cultiva-
tion and well-improved. This valuable ■
property has all been acquired by hard
work, good management and sound judg-
ment on the part of our subject and his
estimable wife, who has indeed proved to
him a true helpmeet, aiding him in every
possible way.
Mr. Geiger bought a pleasant home at
No. 804 South Main street on the ist of
March, 1893, and there he and his wife
have since lived retired, leaving the opera-
tion of his farms to their children, who are
as follows: George H. married Carrie
Stover, of Towanda, and has four children;
Magdalena is the wife of Philip Sutter, who
lives on one of our subject's farms, and they
have two children; Albert F. , who lives on
the old homestead, wedded Mary Swartzen,
and has two children; John N. is engaged in
farming; Minnie is the wife of Joseph Sut-
ter, and has four children; he lives in To-
wanda township; and Paul H. is now a resi-
dent of Oklahoma.
Mr. Geiger has always been a stanch
supporter of the Republican party, and
while living in the country he served for six
years as highway commissioner of Towanda
township. Upright and honorable in all
his dealings, the success that has attended
his well-directed efforts is certainly justly
merited, and he has gained the confidence
and respect of all who know him.
J
OSEPH D. KAUFMAN.— Similar to a
foundation stone which holds its place
under an important superstructure, the sub-
ject of this sketch occupies an immovable
position among the solid men of Empire
township. His occupation at present is that
of general farming and stock raising, and he
owns and successfully operates a most de-
isirable farm of two hundred and forty acres
on section 4, about three miles north of
Le Roy.
Mr. Kaufman was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, May 28, 1840, and is a son of
Joseph Kaufman, who was born in the same
state, in 1810, and died in 1840. The
mother of our subject, who bore the maiden
name of Mary Ann Berry, was a native of
Virginia, but was reared in Ohio, where her
marriage was celebrated. After the death
of her husband she devoted her entire atten-
tion to the rearing of her children, and in
1857 brought her family to Illinois, locating
on a farm in Blue Ridge township, Piatt
county, where she spent the remainder of
her life, dying there in August, 1876.
The subject of this review remained with
his mother until his marriage, and by his
work upon the home farm gained a good
practical knowledge of agriculture. Later
he learned the carpenter's and joiner's trade,
which he followed for several years. In
July, 1862, however, he laid aside all per-
sonal interests and enlisted for three months
208
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
in Company A, Seventy-first Illinois Volun-
teer Infantry, which was on duty guarding
the Ohio & Mobile Railroad in Kentucky
until mustered out at Chicago at the close
of their term of enlistment.
After his return from the war Mr. Kauf-
man located in Tazewell county, where he
engaged in farming for twenty-one years.
There he was married, January i6, 1868, to
Miss Martha Curtis, a native of Indiana,
who came to this state when a young lady
with her father, Harry Curtis. Three chil-
dren blessed this union, namely: Henry C. ,
a farmer of Empire township, McLean
county, who married Almeda Newman and
has had three children, Russell and Joseph
D., still living, and Ella, who died at the
age of four months; Mary, who is at home
with her parents; and William A., who is
now attending the high school at Le Roy.
For a time after his marriage Mr. Kauf-
man worked at the carpenter's and joiner's
trades in Le Roy, and then returned to
Tazewell county, where he rented a farm
for a few years and then purchased a place,
making that county his home twenty-one
years altogether. Selling his place there in
the spring of 1890, he bought his present
farm in Empire township, upon which he has
since made many valuable improvements, in-
cluding the planting of fruit and ornamental
trees. He is a wide-awake, energetic man,
and from a modest beginning, in which he
was dependent upon his own resources, has
become one of the most prosperous and sub-
stantial citizens of his community. In poli-
tics he has been a steadfast Republican since
casting his first presidential ballot for Abra-
ham Lincoln in 1864, and as a man and
citizen contributes his full share toward en-
hancing the intellectual and moral welfare
of his township and county. For several
years he has most capably served as a mem-
ber of the school board, and is now serving
his second term as township trustee. He
and his estimable wife hold membership in
the Le Roy Methodist Episcopal church,
with which he is officially connected and is
now one of the trustees, while fraternally
he belongs to the Grand Army Post of the
same place. He has ever been found prompt
and true to every engagement, and no trust
reposed in him has ever been misplaced.
M
ISS SUSAN LOEHR is a representa-
tive of one of the oldest and most
highly respected families of Bloomington,
being a daughter of Peter J. and Anna B.
(Schneider) Loehr, who located here in
1846. The father was a native of Ger-
many, and on first coming to this country
located in Somerset, Somerset county,
Pennsylvania, where he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Anna B. Schneider, a
native of that place and a daughter of
Jacob Schneider, also a resident of Somer-
set, who had come to America from Ger-
many when a young man. The grandfather
was a business man of considerable prom-
inence and served as justice of the peace
for a number of years. His advice was
often sought on different matters, and he
was a man looked up to and honored by all
who knew him. He and his family held
membership in the Lutheran church. His
brother laid out the early part of the town
of Somerset, and the family was always
prominently identified with public affairs
there.
For some years after their marriage,
Mr. and Mrs. Loehr continued their resi-
dence in Somerset, Pennsylvania, where he
engaged in busmess as a merchant tailor,
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
209
and later followed farming in Somerset
county. There eight children were born to
them and seven of the number came to
Bloomington, these being Clarissa, who
married Dr. H. H. Painter and came to
Bloomington prior to her parents, her death
occurring here; Frederick, a painter by
trade, who died in Mobile, Alabama; Susan,
our subject; Catherine, who married Will-
iam Weyand, of Somerset, and both died
in Bloomington; Francis, who, as a sur-
veyor, went to Walla Walla, Washington,
in 1852, is now deceased; William, a re-
tired farmer, who is now living in Bloom-
ington; John H., who for some years served
as county treasurer of McLean county, Illi-
nois, and died in Bloomington in 1886;
Anna, deceased; and Charles, who was em-
ployed in the county treasurer's office from
the time he was a youug man until his
death in 1886. He served in the civil war
in an Illinois regiment.
On coming to McLean county in 1846,
the father purchased a farm west of the
city, and made his home thereon until his
death, which occurred in 1852. The mother
long survived him, passing away in 1881,
at the advanced age of ninety years. She
continued to reside upon the farm for some
time after her husband's death, but finally
removed to Bloomington and purchased a
comfortable home at No. 512 West Front
street, where she spent her remaining days.
Before coming to Bloomington the parents
both joined the Christian church, and united
with the congregation here when the
church was quite small. They were num-
bered among its most active and prominent
workers, and their lives were ever in har-
mony with their professions. They re-
ceived and merited the high regard of the
entire community and those who knew
them best were numbered among their
warmest friends.
Miss Loehr, of this review, was born
June 7, 1817, and now occupies a pleasant
home at the corner of West and Front
streets. Like the other members of the
family she is a member of the Christian
church and has the respect and esteem of
all who know her.
FRANK MORRISON, a leading plumber
and steam-fitter, and a prominent busi-
ness man of Bloomington, was born in Glas-
gow, Scotland, December 29, 1844, a son
of Frank and Jeanette (Gumming) Morrison,
also natives of Glasgow, which has been
the home of the family for many genera-
tions. There the parents both died in the
faith of the Presbyterian church, of which
they were faithful and consistent members.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was
Alexander Morrison.
Mr. Morrison, of this review, was edu-
cated in the grammar schools of Glasgow
and at the age of thirteen years began
learning the plumber's trade, at which he
served a seven-years' apprenticeship. Aft-
er thoroughly mastering the business in all
its details, he worked as a journeyman for a
short time in Glasgow, and was then em-
ployed at the ship building yards of Caird &
Company, on the river Clyde, working on
the plumbing of the Atlantic line of steam-
ers for five years.
In 1868, Mr. Morrison was married, in
Glasgow, to Miss Ellen Cowan, daughter
of Robert Cowan, of Sterlingshire. After
his marriage he worked on the steamers
of the cunard line, the North German
Lloyds line, and those of the Penin-
sula Steam Packet Company, an Oriental
2IO
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
line, whose steamers sailed from South-
ampton to Bombay, India, and other
eastern points. His work on these vessels
was of a most modern character. In 1872,
Mr. Morrison came to the United States,
landing at New York on the 4th of July.
After spending about a year in looking for
work in different Pennsylvania towns, he
came to Bloomington in 1873 and accepted
a position with George Mcintosh, a plum-
ber and steam-fitter of this city, for whom
he worked one year. He was next with
Robert Louden, when he first started into
the plumbing business, and remained with
him for seven years as foreman.
In 1883, Mr. Morrison embarked in the
same business on his own account in Hill's
block on South East street, and when the quar-
ters became too small to accommodate his
constantly increasing business, he removed
to the Gerkin block on East street. Subse-
quently his business again demanded larger
quarters and he removed to the Stevenson
block on Front street. He is now located
at No. 206 East Front street, occupying the
whole store, twenty-four by one hundred
feet. He has had many of the largest con-
tracts in the city for both steam heating and
plumbing, and during the busy seasen em-
ploys about fifteen men. He was one of
the first board of examiners of plumbers for
the city and still holds that position.
Mr. and Mrs. Morrison have a family of
nine children, two of whom were born in
Scotland, and the others after the emigra-
tion of the family to America. In order of
birth they are as follows: Frank, Jr., who
is engaged in the plumbing business in
Pontiac, Illinois; Jennie; Robert, a plumber
of Bloomington, who wedded Mary Emer-
son, and has one child, Helen; Charles is
married and is with our subject in business;
Ellen, who was educated in the high school
of Bloomington, as was also her sister Jen-
nie; and John, James, Bell and Margaret,
who are still attending school. The family
have a pleasant home at No. 802 East
Front street, which is one of the best parts
of the city. Both Mr. and Mrs. Morrison
are earnest members of the Second Presby-
terian church, and he is also a member of
Evergreen Lodge, No. 265, I. O. O. F.
Politically he is identified with the Repub-
lican party, but has never been an aspirant
for office, preferring to give his undivided at-
tention to his business interests. In busi-
ness affairs he is honorable, prompt and
reliable, and the success that has come to
him is due entirely to his own industry,
sound judgment and good executive ability.
MARKS BANKS, a pioneer of McLean
county, and for the past thirteen years
president of the Old Settlers' Society of
Dawson township, came to this county in
1834, and for sixty-five years has been one
of its honored citizens. He was born in
Montgomery county, Virginia, January 12,
1823, and is the son of Cassell and Mary
(Watkins) Banks, both natives of Virginia.
They were the parents of eight children,
of whom Mrs. Sarah Martin, John, Mrs.
Elizabeth McDonald, George, and Mrs.
Ruth Wall are deceased. The living are
Marks, the subject of our sketch; Thomas,
who resides in Saybrook, McLean county;
and Mrs. Mary Vanscoyoc, living in Daw-
son township. The paternal grandfather,
John Banks, was a native of New Jersey,
who moved in an early day to Montgomery
county, Virginia, and there married Miss
Short.
The subject of this sketch came to Mc-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
211
Lean county with his parents when eleven
years of age, at which time the country
was almost entirely in its primitive state,
although there were settlements in various
parts of the county. Two years after the
arrival of the family his mother died, after
which Marks really commenced life for him-
self. It was his lot to work, and work hard.
The virgin soil must be broken, crops
planted and harvested, log cabins built, and,
in fact, everything must be done to make
" the wilderness blossom as the rose." In
doing his part in the development of this
country, it may be surmised there was little
time, even if the opportunity was offered,
for obtaining an education. The opportun-
ities, however, were improved whenever
given, and Mark obtained a good common-
school education, but the little obtained in
the primitive school house is not to be com-
pared to what he has since learned in the
school of experience.
On the 15th of April, 1847, Mr. Banks
was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca
Vanscoyoc, daughter of James and Drusella
(Lewis) Vanscoyoc, natives of Pennsylvania
and Virginia, respectively, but who were
also numbered among the pioneers of this
county. Mrs. Banks was one of a family
of three sons and three daughters. By this
union there were four children, one of whom
died in infancy. Mary was the wife of
William Van Gundy. She died leaving
three children: Frank, Harry and Clay.
Rachel E. died in maidenhood. Millard C.
grew to manhood and married Ara Hoover,
daughter of George L. and Susan (Bane)
Hoover, who are natives of Virginia, but
who now reside in McLean county. Three
boys have come to bless this union. Earl,
Cassius Cassel and George James. Mrs.
Rebedca Banks departed this life February
19, 1890, at the age of sixty-six years, and
her remains were interred in the Dawson
cemetery. She was a member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, and died in the
hope of a blessed resurrection and a life be-
yond the grave, where there shall be a re-
union of loved ones.
Mr. Banks has been honored by the
citizens of .the township with various offices
of honor and trust. For years he occupied
the responsible position of school director
and did all in his power to advance the
interests of the public schools. He also
served as a member of the county board of
supervisors, making an efficient member of
that body. As postmaster of Senex he
served for one year, the post office being
in his house. In politics he has been a
Republican since the organization of the
party, and has always been an advocate of
its principles. Locally, however, he votes
for the best man nominated for office. He
is non-sectarian in his religious views, and
endeavors to gauge his conduct by the
golden rule. He has been an extensive
reader of the current events of the day,
and always endeavors to be posted on what
is going on in his state and nation.
Although he has reached almost his
four score years, he is yet hale and hearty,
sound in body and mind, and is surrounded
by many friends. He likes to meet with
his associates of the past, and recall the
events of the days gone by, the time when
the country was new, when wild game of
all kinds abounded, when men and women
went to church in common everyday gar-
ments and worshiped God with all the zeal
possible. For the purpose of keeping up
the memories of the past and to renew old
acquaintances, he assisted in organizing the
old settlers' society, which has its meetings,
212
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
annually. While the ranks of the pioneers
are thinning very fast it is needful that the
present generation should know of the toils
they endured and give them the reverence
their due. To no man in McLean county
is greater honor due in this respect than
to Marks Banks, the pioneer of 1823.
COLONEL HENRY G. REEVES. It
is a well attested maxim that the
greatness of a state lies not in its machin-
ery for government, nor even in its institu-
tions, but in the sterling qualities of its in-
dividual citizens, in their capacity for high
and unselfish eiYort and their devotion to
the public good. The name of Colonel
Reeves is one which has been long and
conspicuously identified with the history of
Illinois, and the goal toward which he has
hastened during his many years of toil and
endeavor is that which is attained only by
such as have by patriotism and wise counsel
given the world an impetus toward the
good; such have earned the right and title
to have their names enduringly inscribed on
the pages of history.
He was born in Pitttsburg, Pennsylvania,
June 12, 1844, a son of Barnes C. and
Mary M. (Gray) Reeves. His paternal
great-grandfather, Abner Reeves, was an
officer in the Revolutionary war, a member
of the New Jersey troops, and his commis-
sion is now a cherished heirloom in posses-
sion of the Colonel. The grandfather was
Manassah Reeves, of Pennsylvania. The
father was born near Monongahela, Penn-
sylvania, was there reared and when a
young man went to Pittsburg, where he
engaged in the lumber business. In the
latter city he married Miss Mary, daughter
of James Gray, one of the pioneers and
prominent citizens of Pittsburg. He was a
native of Ireland, was of Scotch ancestry,
and in his religious faith was a Presbyterian.
In politics James Gray was a Democrat and
was a personal acquaintance of Jackson and
Van Buren. In 1S55 Barnes C. Reeves re-
moved with his family to a farm in Old-
town township and there made his home
until his death. He died in 1856, leaving
a widow and three children, of whom the
Colonel is the eldest.
The childhood of our subject was spent
in Pittsburg and on the old farm until i860,
when he entered the Illinois Wesleyan Uni-
versity, pursuing his studies there until after
the inauguration of the civil war, when with
many of his college chums he enlisted in
Company G, Sixty-eighth Illinois Infantry,
in May, 1862, when not yet eighteen years
of age. The regiment was assigned to the
army of the Potomac and he remained with
his command until the expiration of his
term of service.
After receiving an honorable discharge
at the close of his service Mr. Reeves en-
gaged in teaching school and completed his
University course by graduation in the class
of 1866. He had the honor of being salu-
tatorian, and was graduated with the degree
of Bachelor of Arts. He immediately began
the study of law with Judge O. T. Reeves,
was admitted to the bar in 1867 and with
the exception of the periods spent away
from the city or in official service has en-
gaged in the practice of his profession con-
tinuously since, meeting with excellent
success in his endeavors. In course of time
he took the Master of Arts degree and
served as attorney for his alma mater for
ten or twelve years or until he went to
Springfield on official duty.
The Colonel is a stalwart Republican
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
213
and has long taken a personal interest in
politics, doing all in his power to promote
the growth and insure the success of his
party. He has served as alderman of the
sixth ward of Bloomington, and throughout
Governor Fifer's administration he served
as his private secretary. Immediately on
his retirement from that office he was ap-
pointed by Governor Altgeld on the court
of claims as its Republican member for a
term of four years. He was for many years
a member and judge advocate of the Second
Brigade of the Illinois National Guards,
and has always maintained an interest in
military affairs.
Colonel Reeves was united in marriage
in Bloomington, December 25, 1867, to
Miss Harriet Niccolls, a daughter of John
Niccolls, one of the early residents of
Bloomington, to which city he removed
from Pennsylvania. They have one child,
Violet N. The parents have long been
faithful and consistent members of Grace
Methodist Episcopal church. The Colonel
is a member of the College Alumni Associa-
tion, and for some years was its president.
He is also a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity and a member of the State Bar
Association. He was on the program at a
meeting in which they had addresses from
Vice-President Stevenson, Judge Blodgett
and Mr. Burrough. He delivered an ad-
dress on "The question as to whether this
state ought to have a new constitution,"
taking strong grounds in favor thereof in a
most able, earnest and carefully prepared
speech. He also delivered the same ad-
dress before the gathering of the state board
of supervisors, it being a matter of vital
interest to the commonwealth. It was a
most clear and masterful argument, setting
forth the condition of our state at the time
of the adoption of its various constitutions,
the transformations that have since been
wrought, and the necessity for a new or-
ganic law brought about by our different
methods of business and political life at the
present time. He strongly urged the curb-
ing of the powers of trusts and corporations,
the just assessment of all property, whether
belonging to an individual or a company,
and the adoption of a provision whereby
representation shall not depend entirely
upon population but also upon the extent
of territory which the designated population
shall occupy. This is to keep the control
of the state from ever entering the hands of
Chicago, for in the course of a few years
the metropolis of Illinois would find it pos-
sible to dominate the entire commonwealth.
The whole address was marked by prac-
tical common sense, looking to the inter-
ests of the majority and not of the minority
of millionaires and capitalists, and was per-
meated by a patriotic spirit which has
characterized the entire career of Colonel
Henry G. Reeves, one of Bloomington's
most honored and respected citizens.
SAMUEL BUSH is one of the honored
pioneer residents of Chenoa, whose life
is a verification of the fact that the inevita-
ble law of destiny accords a tireless energy,
industry and ability a successful career. A
community depends upon commercial ac-
tivity, its welfare is due to this, and the
promoter of extensive and legitimate busi-
ness enterprises may well be termed its
benefactor. Prominent in his adopted city
stands Samuel Bush, a native of Pennsyl-
vania, who was born in Shippensburg,
Cumberland county, on the 5th of June,
1822. His parents were John and Rebecca
214
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
(Boilue) Bush, both of Pennsylvania, who
came to McLean county in 1857, locating
and building the first house in Chenoa.
The former opened a hotel here, the Bush
House, which he conducted for a number
of years. He was a cabinet-maker by trade,
and in this pursuit was engaged for fifty
years. In politics he was a Republican, to
which party he gave his support. His
death occurred in 18S2, at the advanced
age of ninety years, and that of his wife ten
years previously, when in her eighty-first
year.
Of the eight children of this worthy
couple six survive, the subject of this sketch
being second in order of birth. He was
reared in his native town in Pennsylvania,
where he received his education in the com-
mon schools, and where he learned the
cabinet-maker's trade, in which he was en-
gaged for twenty-five years. Upon reach-
ing his majority he started in business for
himself, and worked at various points in the
east, until his thirty-sixth year, when, in
1858, he removed to McLean county, set-
tling in Chenoa, where his parents had pre-
ceded him by one year. He followed his
trade here and in the surrounding counties
until 1861, when at the opening of the civil
war he enlisted as a member of Company
D, Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, under Captain
Armstrong, with Colonel R. Ingersoll in
command. He entered the regiment in
1 86 1 as a sergeant, and received promo-
tions throughout the various campaigns, un-
til at the close of the war he was holding
the commission of first lieutenant. He par-
ticipated in a number of prominent battles,
among which were Shiloh, Pittsburg Land-
ing, Corinth, Memphis and various minor
conflicts. In 1865 he returned to McLean
county and purchased a farm of eighty
acres, trading it after a time for the Smith
Hotel in Chenoa, which he conducted for a
time, and later another hotel, the Exchange,
which he soon abandoned. In 1876 Mr.
Bush took up a claim in Kansas, which he
sold after three years and returned to Che-
noa. In 1883 he went to Texas and spent
two years on a ranch, going later to Fort
Worth for a short time, and then returning
to Chenoa, where he now lives a retired life.
On the loth of April, 1877, Mr. Bush was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann East.
He is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and in politics gives his support
to the Republican platform. In manner he
is pleasant and affable, and a stranger in his
presence is at once perfectly at ease.
SAMUEL R. HILTS, who resides in a
beautiful home on section i 5, Towanda
township, where he and wife owns eighty
acres of fine farming land, together with an
additional eighty acres on section 14, is
numbered among the most progressive
farmers in the township. He was born
September 17, 1866, near the village of
Towanda, on his father's farm, and is the
son of George and Mary (Wilmuth) Hilts.
He is one of a family of seven children, the
others being Walter C, chief clerk in the
office of the Port Arthur Land and Insur-
ance company, of Kansas City, Missouri;
Dr. Mark B., a practicing physician of
Sloan, Iowa; Anna, wife of James Jeffrey,
of Sloan, Iowa; Jessie, wife of Frank Ray-
burn, of Jefferson, Iowa; Effie, who is teach-
ing in the public schools of Oregon, Illinois;
Laura, who is engaged in teaching in the
public schools of Sloan, Iowa.
The subject of this sketch grew to man-
hood on his father's farm in Towanda town-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
215
ship, and was educated in the common
schools. He remained at home, assisting
in the cultivation 6{ the home farm until he
attained his majority. He was married
December 3, 1895, to Miss Anna Jones,
daughter of Nelson and Eliza (White) Jones,
by whom he has one son, Noel Jones,
named in honor of his great-grandmother.
As a life calling, Mr. Hilts selected
farming, an occupation to which he had
been reared, and the year succeeding his
marriage they erected their present fine and
substantial residence, in which they have
since continued to reside. He is a good
farmer, and thoroughly understands his
business, and in addition to a general line
of farming, he has made a specialty of the
breeding of Poland-China hogs of pure
blood. He has been very careful in the
selection of his stock, especially for breed-
ing purposes, and his herd contains some
choice animals of undoubted pedigree.
In politics Mr. Hilts is a Republican,
with which party he has been identified
since attaining his majority. He has served
as collector of his township, discharging the
duties of the office most efficiently during
the years 1893-94. Fraternally, he is a
member of Success Lodge, No. 480, K. P.,
of Towanda, and has passed all the chairs.
In religious belief he is a Presbyterian, and
he and his wife hold membership in the
church of that denomination in Towanda.
Both are highly esteemed for their many
good qualities of head and heart, and they
have many friends in the township and
county.
CHARLES E. MOOTS, a progressive
farmer and stock raiser of Money
Creek township, resides on the old home-
11
stead of his father on section 18, where he
is engaged in general farming and stock
raising. He was born November 1 1, 1863,
on the place where he now resides, and is
the son of Charles M. and Adaline (Busick)
Moots, the former a native of Ohio and the
latter of McLean county, Illinois. Charles
Moots, the grandfather of our subject, was
also born in Ohio, and there his son, Charles
M., spent the first eighteen years of his life,
after which he came to McLean county,
Illinois, and located in the village of
McLean. He was a shoemaker by trade
and followed that occupation for some years
after coming to the county. It was not his
intention, however, to make that his life
work, and as soon as his means would per-
mit he invested his earnings, purchasing
eighty acres of the farm on which our sub-
ject now resides. From time to time he
added to its area until he now owns three
hundred and fifty acres. He began in a
very early day to make a specialty of raising
horses for the markets, and was one of the
first to bring imported horses into the
vicinity. In 1881 he moved to Hudson,
and commenced the business of importing
and handling draft and coach horses. He
remained at Hudson for three years and
then moved to Normal, where he still con-
tinues to live, and where until quite recently
he was actively engaged in the horse busi-
ness. In the family of Charles M. and
Adaline Moots were nine children, seven of
whom grew to maturity: Mary, wife of T. C.
Jenkins, of Money Creek township; Frank,
of Helena, Montana; Ida, wife of Wilbur
Rogers, of Kansas; Charles E., our subject;
Lincoln, who died at the age of nine years;
Bunn C, a farmer of Money Creek town-
ship; Warren, deceased; Bert and Gertie,
at home.
2l6
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
The subject of this sketch was reared
on the old homestead in Money Creek
township, and in the public schools of the
township he received a good common-school
education. Since attaining his majority he
has been carrying on the home farm with
good success. In 1889 he purchased in
Ohio the inaported coach horse, Prince, and
since that time has dealt quite extensively
in thoroughbred stock. For the past five
years he has made a specialty of handling
and training saddle horses. He has now
Noel Fox, a fine coach horse, which has
won prizes at various local fairs, and also
at the state fair at Springfield, Illinois.
On the loth of September, 1885, Mr.
Moots was united in marriage with Miss Re-
becca Michaels, daughter of Aaron and
Martha (Blough) Michaels, the former a na-
tive of Germany who came to the United
States a boy of nine years, and grew to
manhood near Johnstown, Pennsylvania,
and the latter a native of Pennsylvania,
where Mrs. Moots was also born. The lat-
ter was one of a family of thirteen children,
as follows: Amanda, who died in childhood;
Albert, who resides in Richland county,
Illinois; Benjamin, of Johnston county, Mis-
souri; Noah, a farmer of Money Creek town-
ship ; Peter now living in the state of Oregon ;
Sarah, wife of John Hedrick, of Money
Creek township; Mary V., the deceased
wife of John E. Gladheart, of Olney, Illinois;
Rebecca, wife of our subject; Daniel, who
died in childhood; John, who resides with
his sister, Ira, a farmer of Hudson township;
William and Willard, twins, both of whom
died in infancy.
To Mr. and Mrs. Moots six children
have been born — Florence, Herbert Spen-
cer, Hazel, Edna, Fern and Frank Dow.
In politics, Mr. Moots is a Republican, but
he is not a politician in the sense of office-
seeking. The only official position held by
him was that of road commissioner, an office
which he filled for two years. Fraternally,
he is a member of Towanda Lodge, No. 437,
and religiously he and his wife are members
of the United Brethren church, and in the
work of which they are much interested.
He is one of the members of the official
board. They are both well known and are
held in the highest esteem by all.
ROBERT K. LEECH. The records of
the lives of our forefathers are of inter-
est to the modern citizen, not alone for
their historical value but also for the in-
spiration and example they afford ; yet we
need not look to the past. Although sur-
roundings may differ the essential condi-
tions of human life are ever the same, and
a man can learn from the success of those
around him if he will heed the obvious les-
sons contained in their history. In business
affairs, Mr. Leech is energetic, prompt and
notably reliable, and the success that he has
achieved in life is due entirely to his own
well-directed labors.
He was born in McKeesport, Allegheny
county, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1831,
a son of James and Dorcas (McKee) Leech.
The father was a native of Westmoreland
county, the same state, and being reared to
agricultural pursuits he became a successful
and prominent farmer, owning a large farm
which extended almost from the Mononga-
hela to the Allegheny river. Upon that place
he continued to reside until called to his final
rest. In the same neighborhood was born and
reared his first wife, the mother of our sub-
ject, whose brothers and family laid out the
town of McKeesport and are to-day quite
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
217
prominent there and in Pittsburg. Our
subject's parents both held membership in
the United Presbyterian church, in which
the father served as elder and was an active
worker. To them were born eight children,
namely: Jane, who is married and lives in
Pennsylvania; David, a resident of Lincoln,
Illinois; James, who is one of Pittsburg's
distinguished citizens; Henry, who died in
Bloomington; Robert K., our subject; John,
deceased; William, still a resident of Al-
toona, Pennsylvania; and Dorcas, deceased.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was
one of three brothers who came to this
country from the south of Scotland and set-
tled in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, at
an early day. He served in the Revolution-
ary army.
As the nearest school house to his child-
hood home was six miles distant, Robert
K. Leech had no educational advantages
before he reached the age of ten years.
He then went to live with a man nearer the
school andwasto have been allowed to pursue
his studies there three months each winter,
but only received five months' instruction
in all. By subsequent study and observa-
tion, however, he obtained a good practical
education, and before the presidential elec-
tion of 1852 began to read in order that he
might vote intelligently. At that time he
was a supporter of the Whig party and
since its dissolution has been an ardent
Republican.
During his youth, Mr. Leech learned the
mason's trade, and at the age of eighteen
years started out to make his own way in the
world. In the fall of 1852 he came to Rock
Island, Illinois, where he worked until the
following spring, and then went to Cedar
county, Iowa. There he started in business
for himself as a contractor and met with
excellent success. After working in differ-
ent places, he finally located in Decatur
county, Iowa, where he was married March
20, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth Michael. For
two years he made his home there and then
came to Bloomington, where his wife's peo-
ple were living, leaving Decatur county on
the day Fort Sumter was fired upon. Soon
afterward he enlisted in Company F, Ninety-
fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was
sent to Benton Barracks, Springfield, Mis-
souri, where he was taken ill and left. He
was finally able to rejoin his regiment in
month of March, 1862, at Gladden Val-
ley, Missouri, and remained with it until
the close of the war. He participated in
the sieges of Fort Morgan, Vicksburg and
Morganzie Bend, was also at Brownsville,
Texas, and when hostilities ceased was
honorably discharged. After his return to
Bloomington, Mr. Leech engaged in the
grocery and meat business on Front street
for a number of years, and on selling out
again turned his attention to contracting
in masonry. He has laid a large num-
ber of foundations in the city, and has
also laid the sewers and done other work
for the city, employing a large force of
men. He has erected and owns a good
double flat at 607 Jefferson street.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Leech, namely: William died at the age of
thirty-one years, leaving a widow and one
child, Bessie, who are now living in San
Antonio, Texas; Katie F., a very prominent
young lady, highly esteemed by all who
knew her, died at the age of twenty-three
years; Lena M. is the wife of James R.
Clark, of Bloomington, and has one child,
James R., Jr.; Norma F. is the wife of
William Masters, a farmer near Petersburg,
Illinois, and has one child, Edith; and John
2l8
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
has been superintendent of the fifth division
of the government printing office at Wash-
ington, D. C. , for the past nine years. Mr.
Leech attends and supports the Baptist
church, of which his wife is a faithful mem-
ber, and socially he affiliates with W. T.
Sherman Post, G. A. R.
FRANCIS M. JONES was for many
years actively identified with the agri-
cultural interests of McLean county, but is
now living retired in the city of Blooming-
ton, though he still owns and successfully
manages three valuable farms in this re-
gion and one in Arizona. He is a native
of Ohio, born seven miles from Springfield,
March 8, 1833, and is a son of Abraham
R. and Matilda (Noel) Jones. The birth of
the father occurred in Cayuga county. New
York, October 17, 1791, and in that state
he spent his boyhood and youth. During
pioneer days, in 1808, he accompanied his
parents, Benjamin and Mariam (Russ)
Jones, on their removal to Champaign
county, Ohio, locating near Urbana. The
grandfather was of Welsh origin and was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war.
After residing in Champaign county for
a time, Benjamin Jones removed to Clark
county, Ohio, where he made his home,
married and reared his family, prior to his
coming to Illinois in 1856. During the
war of 1812, the father of our subject was
engaged in hauling provisions for the
soldiers. On the 20th of May, 18 13, he
was united in marriage with Miss Matilda
Noel, who was born in Kentucky, July 29,
1795, but soon after her birth her parents
removed to Maryland, where they lived
for seven years before going to Clark
county, Ohio. They were of German de-
scent. Purchasing a farm near Springfield,
Ohio, Abraham R. Jones engaged in its
operation until 1856, and was one of the
extensive farmers of that locality. In that
year he sold his interests in the Buckeye
state and came to McLean county, Illinois.
In Towanda township he bought a farm,
which our subject carried on, while he lived
retired from active labor, enjoying a well-
earned rest. In early life he was a Whig,
as were the other members of the family,
and later he became a stanch supporter of
the Republican party. Both he and his
wife were earnest and faithful members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, with which
she united at the age of fourteen years, and
were held in high esteem by all who knew
them. He died February 13, 1865, and
she passed away March 7, 1880.
In the family of this worthy couple were
ten children, all of whom reached years of
maturity with the exception of one, who
died at the age of one and a half years.
The others were as follows: John, who died
in Ohio, December 22, 1845; Levi, who is
still a resident of Springfield, that state;
William, who died in this county, February
2, 1894; Eliza A., a resident of Towanda,
Illinois; Cyrus, who is living retired in San
Jose, California; Abraham, who died in
McLean county, April 4, 1878; Nelson, a
prominent farmer of this county, who died
February 26, 1896; Phcebe, wife of Martin
Arthur, of Towanda; and Francis M., of
this review.
The early education of our subject was
acquired in the country schools near Spring-
field, Ohio, and he later attended Witten-
burg College in that city, receiving much
better advantages than the average boy of
his time. He remained under the parental
roof until the fall of 1850, when he came to
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
219
McLean county, Illinois, on a visit, riding
horseback the entire way and being nine
days upon the road. Returning to his
father's farm, he remained there until the
summer of 1852, when he again came on
horseback to this county, bringing with him
land warrants or soldier's scrip to nine hun-
dred and twenty acres. He entered his
land at the land office at Danville, which
was re-opened in 1852 after being closed on
account of locating the Illinois Central Rail-
road lands. He had quite an experience in
getting his lands located, as there was a
terrible crowd. He secured all his land in
Towanda township, it having been previ-
ously examined by him, and a part of it he
still owns. His brothers were also inter-
ested in the land, and they at once turned
their attention to their improvement and
cultivation. One year Mr. Jones herded
cattle, which, after fattening for market,
he drove to Chicago, where they were killed
and sold at dead weight. In the fall of
1855 he went to Texas, where he spent the
following winter, and on his return to Illi-
nois in the spring of 1856 began breaking
prairie. That year his father arrived in Mc-
Lean county, and our subject was in partner-
ship with him in their farming operations
until the latter's death. He had previously
purchased an adjoining farm, and after the
mother's death bought the interests of the
other heirs in the old homestead, which he
still owns, having here two hundred and
twenty acres. Besides his place he owns
two other large farms in the county and one
in Arizona. Upon his home farm he erected
a good residence in 1872, and made many
other improvements which added to its
value and attractive appearance, so that it
is now one of the most desirable farms in
f.he township. Always a progressive and
enterprising man, he was the first to bring
a reaper into the neighborhood, it being an
old Atkinson, which he purchased in 1856
or 1857, and hauled from Chicago by wag-
ons. He also introduced short-horn Dur-
ham cattle and Poland China hogs into this
region, and although he did not make a
specialty of exhibiting his stock at fairs, he
took many premiums when they were
shown.
On the 28th of January, 1858, Mr.
Jones married Miss Ann Maria Hampleman,
of Clinton, Illinois, who was born in Clark
county, Ohio, October 18, 1839. Her
father, Daniel Hampleman, was also born
near Springfield, Ohio, March 7, 1816, and
there grew to manhood. He was married
January 3, 1839, to Miss Sarah Fletcher,
who was born in Greene county, Ohio,
April 14, 1 82 1. They lived for some time in
Clarke county, Ohio, but when Mrs. Jones
was a child of three years removed to Perry
county, Illinois, where the father engaged
in farming for four years, returning to Clark
county, Ohio, at the end of that time. In
the fall of 185 1 he again came west, and
this time located near Crawfordsville,
Montgomery county, Indiana, where in the
midst of a heavily timbered track, he and
a brother-in-law, William Lewis, erected
a sawmill. Here much of the material for
the early homes of that region was cut.
Mr. Hampleman sold his property there in
1853 and came to Illinois, locating on a
farm near Clinton, where he still resides.
He is a Republican in politics and a highly
respected citizen of his community. His
estimable wife died November 13, 1867.
Of the nine children born to them three
died in infancy. The others areas follows:
Ann Maria, wife of our subject; Emily, de-
ceased wife of John White, of Blooming-
220
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ton; Percy Laura, deceased wife of Charles
Davis, of Leroy; Marion, who died at the
age of nineteen years; Albert, who died at
the age of twenty-nine, leaving four chil-
dren, at Clinton, Illinois; and Elizabeth,
wife of Joseph Abbott, of Towanda.
Mrs. Jones' paternal grandfather was
George Hempleman, as the name was then
spelled. He was born near Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, about 1788, and was a son
of George and Margaret (Duffy) Hemple-
man, both natives of Germany, the former
born in 1732, the latter in 1734. They
came to America in 1752 and were married
the same year. They located within three
miles of Philadelphia, where were born to
them four children: Elizabeth, George,
Catherine and Nancy. At an early day the
family removed to Clark county, Ohio, set-
tling on the south fork of the Little Miami
river, where the father died in 1842 at the
extreme old age of one hundred and ten
years, and was buried at South Charleston,
that county. He was a hero of the Revo-
lutionary war. His wife died in Virginia, in
1805. George Hempleman, jr., became a
farmer of Clark county, Ohio, where he
spent the greater part of his life, dying
there in 1853. He was twice married, his
first wife being Ruth Howell, who died in
1825, leaving a family of nine children:
Nancy, Elizabeth, Susan, Delilah, Margaret,
Henry, Daniel, Mary Ann and Cynthia.
The second wife was Sarah Bilderback, who
died in 1847, and to them were born twins:
George F. and Sarah.
Seven children have been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Jones but three are now deceased,
namely: Stella, who died June 22, 1893, ^t
the age of twenty-one years; Lola, who died
December 6, 1866, at the age of four years;
and Max, who died October 22, 1876, at
the age of sixteen months. Those living
are as follows: Price N., who resides on
the home farm, married Emma Raridon, of
Towanda, and has three children: Vesta,
Essyl and Lenn; Edwin E., who resides in
Bloomington, but also owns a farm in
Towanda township, married Josie Shaw and
has one child. Ebon; Maurice E., who lives
on the large farm of his uncle, adjoining
that of our subject, married Alice Rockle
and has four children: Leora, Erlma,
Francis William and Elmo; and Cyrus
Grant, of Arizona, married Hortense Frank-
enberg and has one child, Leona.
Mr. Jones continued to actively engage
in agricultural pursuits in Towanda town-
ship for many years, and in his undertak-
ings met with far more than ordinary suc-
cess. Though he still continues to manage
his farms, he is now practically living re-
tired at No. 507 East Locust street. He
also rents the large farm of seven hundred
acres belonging to his brother in California
and also the one belonging to his sister in
Towanda. In business affairs he is ener-
getic, prompt, and notably reliable. His
strict integrity and honorable dealing com-
mend him to the confidence of all; his
pleasant manner wins him friends, and he is
one of the popular and honored citizens of
Bloomington. He was made a Mason at
Towanda Lodge in 1867; was a charter
member of the same and master for three
years, and also represented it in the grand
lodge.
M
ORTON V. SHAVER, a well-known
conductor on the Chicago & Alton
Railroad, residing in Bloomington, Illinois,
is one of the oldest and most trusted em-
ployes of that road, having been in its ser-
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
221
vice continuously since 1863. He was born
in Ripley, Chautauqua county, New York,
November 3, 1840, and belongs to a family
of Holland origin on the father's side that
was founded in the Mohawk Valley at an
early day. On the mother's side the family
is of Scotch and English origin. His father
had two uncles who were at Fort Schuyler.
The father, Henry J. Shaver, was born near
Troy, Washington county. New York, July
20, 1 78 1, and at the age of nineteen years
removed to Oneida county, that state, loca-
ting near Rome, where he engaged in the
manufacture of potash. About 1836 he re-
moved to Chautauqua county, where he fol-
lowed the same business and later conducted
a hotel at Quincy, now Ripley. He was
twice married, the second time, in Rome,
New York, to Miss Lois Hemstead, the
mother of our subject. She was born Feb-
ruary 27, 1795, and was a daughter of James
Hemstead, whose birth occurred November
26, 1768. By this union four children were
born and three are still living, namely: Mrs.
Susan Leadingham, of Shenandoah, Iowa;
Mrs. Eliza Hubbard, of Spring Prairie,
Walworth county, Wisconsin; and Morton
v., our subject. The father died in Ripley,
New York, November 3, 1846, on our sub-
ject's si.xth birthday, and the mother passed
away in July, 1884, at the advanced age of
eighty-nine years.
The first thirteen years of his life Mor-
ton V. Shaver passed in his native place
and there he acquired his education. He
then accompanied his mother on her removal
to Walworth county, Wisconsin, where she
owned a farm, and he assisted in its opera-
tion for four years. At the end of that time
he went to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he
spent a year, and then returned home. On
the president's first call for seventy-five
thousand volunteers to assist in putting
down the Rebellion, he enlisted for three
months in Company A, Tenth Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, but the time was after-
ward extended to three years. With the
Army of the Cumberland, he participated
in the battles of Perryville and Murfrees-
boro. From wounds received in the latter
engagement and also from disease contracted
in the army, he was incapacitated for
further duty and was honorably discharged
from the service.
Returning to Wisconsin, Mr. Shaver re-
mained there until his health was somewhat
restored, and in the spring of 1863 came to
Bloomington, where he entered the service
of the Chicago & Alton Railroad as brake-
man on a freight train. A year and a half
later he was promoted to freight conductor,
and held that position for twenty years,
considering it preferable to that of passenger
conductor. He ran a through freight to
Chicago for nine years, or until the Kansas
City division was opened, when he was
made conductor of a through freight running
to Louisiana. While thus employed he
contracted ague, and at the end of two
years was compelled to return to Blooming-
ton. For four years and a half he ran a
passenger train from Dwight to Washing-
ton, and it was during this time that Mr.
Keeley, of the gold cure fame, was doing a
most extensive business at the former place,
having as many as thirteen hundred patients
at a time. Since then Mr. Shaver's runs
have all been in and out of Bloomington.
There is no man in central Illinois that has
been longer with one road than he, as for
over a third of a century he has been in the
employ of the Chicago & Alton, which fact
plainly indicates his careful attention to
business and the trust and confidence re-
222
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
posed in him by the company which he has
so faithfully served.
In 1866 Mr. Shaver married Miss Minnie
Rinnan, of Lexington, Illinois, whose girl-
hood was passed in Galesburg, and who is
a daughter of Erastus Rinnan, of Scotch
descent on the father's side and on the
mother's side of Scotch and French origin.
Of the four children born to them, two are
still living: Charles H., a conductor on the
Southern California Railroad and a resident
of San Bernardino; and Mabel, a most ac-
complished young lady and an artist of rare
ability, who is at home with her parents.
The family have a pleasant home at the
corner of North West and Locust streets.
Politically Mr. Shaver is a stanch Republic-
an, and fraternally is an honored member
of the Order of Railway Conductors, No.
87; W. T. Sherman Post, No. 146, G. A.
R. ; and Evergreen Lodge, No. 265, I. O.
O. P., with which organization he has been
connected for thirty-three years, and from
which he received a veteran badge two
years ago.
ELIJAH HORR. It is an important
public duty to honor and perpetuate,
as far as possible, the memory of an
eminent citizen — one who by his blameless
and honorable life and useful career re-
flected credit not only upon his city, but
upon the county and state as well. Through
such memorials as this at hand the individual
and the character of his services are kept
in remembrance, and the importance of
those services thus stand as an object
lesson to those who come after him, and
though dead he still speaks. Long after all
recollection of his personality shall have
faded from the minds of men, the less
perishable record may tell the story of his
life and commend his example for imitation.
Mr. Horr, who was for years prominently
identified with the interests of Bloomington
and McLean county, was born in Denmark,
New York, September 16, 1826, a son of
Peirsoll and Drusilla Horr. The name was
originally spelled Hoar, and the founder of
the family in this country was one of the
early Puritan swho located in Massachusetts.
Senator Hoar comes of the same stock.
The first nine years of his life our subject
spent in his native place and then accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Old
Town, McLean county, Illinois, where the
father engaged in farming until his death in
1 840. The son then went to work for seven
dollars per month and with the money thus
earned finished paying for the farm.
Until about twenty-one years of age, Mr.
Horr continued to engage in agricultural
pursuits, and then worked at cabinet mak-
ing in Bloomington and Clinton, Illinois,
for a time. Later he formed a partnership
with A. C. Washburn and engaged in the
grocery business on Main street, Blooming-
ton, until their store was destroyed by fire.
Mr. Horr then bought out his partner, re-
built the brick block now standing, and con-
tinued in successful business there for some
years. Finally selling his store, he bought
the Hodge farm and again turned his atten-
tion to agriculture for a number of years,
returning to the city in March, 1886. He
was a member of the Harber Brothers
Company, and while the other members of
the firm gave their attention to the business,
he acted as overseer in the building of their
fine new warehouse on South Main street
and the Lake Erie Railroad. He was a
heavy stockholder in the new company at
the time of its incorporation, and was also a
ELIJAH HORR.
THl mew YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDCN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
225
director of the Third National Bank for
many years. Upon the death of Mr.
Dooley in November, 1893, he was made
acting president of the bank and on the 5th
of February, 1894, was elected to that
position, which he most capably filled until
he, too, was called to his final rest May 7,
1895-
On the 1st of May, 1855, Mr. Horr
married Miss Martha Elizabeth Packard, of
Bloomington, a daughter of Job and Martha
(Clark) Packard. The father, who was an
expert gunsmith, died in Massachusetts, in
1836. The Packard family was originally
from England, and the first to come to this
country located in Bridgewater, Massachu-
setts. Mrs. Horr was born in Milbury, that
state; she went to school at Worcester,
whither her mother removed on the death
of her husband, and after attending the
schools at that place and Berlin Academy,
taught one term in Massachusetts before
coming west. In the fall of 1849, in com-
pany with her mother, brother Alvin, and
sister Perces, she came to Bloomington and
taught on South Centre street the first
school that ever drew public money in the
city. She not only conducted that school
successfully, but also taught others in dwell-
ings for two or three years, and had charge
of the Mount Hope and Price schools and
others in the county, being one of the popu-
lar teachers in this section of the state at
that time. Although she has no children of
her own, Mrs. Horr has reared two, Mrs.
Fannie P. Harber and J. Warren Young,
who were given all the advantages pos-
sible.
At one time Mr. Horr was a member of
the county board of supervisors, and was
one of the advisory committee that built
the new court-house. He was chairman of
the board, and during the erection of that
handsome structure, he devoted all of his
time during the day and many of his even-
ings to the business, of which he had almost
complete charge. He bought all of the
material, and it is mainly through his un-
tiring labors that the county to-day has the
finest court-house in this section of the state.
Of the four hundred thousand dollars ex-
pended upon it, every cent was accounted
for, and so ably and satisfactorily was every-
thing done that there was not a single law-
suit. Mr. Horr built the residence where
Peleg Soule now lives, and there he made
his home a short time, and then removed to
his farm. He was one of the most success-
ful and' honored business men of the town;
had the Confidence and respect of his ten-
ants and business associates, and was held
in high, regard by all who knew him. From
the organization of the Republican party he
was one of its stanch supporters. In his
life span of over sixty-eight years he accom-
plished much, and left behind him an honor-
able record well worthy of perpetuation.
Those who were most intimately associated
with him speak in unqualified terms of his
sterling integrity, his honor in business and
his fidelity to all the duties of public and
private life. He attended the Baptist
church. Although Mrs. Horr attended that
church with her husband, she is a charter
member of the Second Presbyterian church,
and is one of the very few original members
now living. She is a most estimable lady
of many sterling qualities, and has a large
circle of friends in the community.
SAMUEL B. WRIGHT, M. D., a well-
known physician and druggist of Stan-
ford, has for almost a quarter of a century
226
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
enjoyed a successful and lucrative practice
in his chosen profession, and as the result
of his untiring labors, his ambition, his en-
ergy and well directed efforts, he is to-day
the possessor of a comfortable competence
and a beautiful home, where he spends his
leisure hours enjoying the society of his
family and friends in the midst of all the
comforts that go to make life worth the
living.
A native of Tennessee, Dr. Wright was
born at Gallatin, Sumner county, June i8,
1850, and is a son of John M. and Mary
(Wright) Wright, who were born, reared
and married in Gallatin. The father, whose
birth occurred in 1820, was a farmer by
occupation and was quite extensively en-
gaged in stock raising, his specialty being
blooded horses. After his marriage he lo-
cated upon his farm at Gallatin, where he
continued to reside until called from this
life in 1865. His wife died ten years be-
fore, leaving three children, of whom the
Doctor is the youngest.
Dr. Wright obtained his literary educa-
tion in the public schools near his boyhood
home and later entered the medical depart-
ment of the University of Nashville, Tenn-
essee, where he was graduated in 1875, with
all the honors attached to such a profes-
sion. He also attended Vanderbilt Univer-
sity, of Nashville, Tennessee. Immediately
afterward he came to Stanford, Illinois,
and opened an office. A few years later,
having met with success financially as well
as professionally, he embarked in the drug
business on a small scale, and as his trade
gradually increased he sold his first store
and erected a larger and better building
upon property which he purchased. There
he has since engaged in business with
marked success, carrying a large and well
assorted stock of drugs, patent medicines,
etc., and he also devotes considerable time
to the practice of medicine.
On the 23d of December, 1875, Dr.
Wright was united in marriage with Miss
Rachel Brooks, a daughter of P. T. and
Eliza Brooks, who were old settlers of Mc-
Lean county. Of the four children born of
this union, only two are now living, namely:
Katie, who is attending school in Eureka,
Illinois; and Miles E. Wright, of Stanford.
Mrs. Wright holds membership in the
Christian church, to the support of which
the Doctor gives liberally although not a
member. Socially, he belongs to the
Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the
Maccabees, Royal Neighbors and Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, in all of which
he has served as examining physician and
is still filling that office. He has been a
member of the town board, and has had
other official positions offered him, but his
ambition is not along that line and he pre-
fers to give his time and attention to his
business and professional duties. He is of
a very social and genial nature and has an
extensive circle of friends and acquaintances
who esteem him highly for his genuine
worth.
JOSEPH STUCKEY, of Danvers, Illi-
nois, an ordained minister and Bishop of
the Mennonite church, has been a resident of
Danvers township since the spring of 1850.
He is a native of Alsace-Lorraine, and was
born in 1825, at which time that country
was a part of France. His parents, Peter
and Elizabeth Stuckey, were natives of
Switzerland. Peter Stuckey removed from
his native province to France, when a small
child with his parents, who both shortly
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
227
afterwards departed this life. He was then
adopted by his grandmother, and remained
with her until twelve years old, when he
was compelled to go among strangers and
earn his own living. At the age of seven-
teen years he become a member of the
Mennonite church, with which he remained
connected until his death, February 22,
i860. In 1824, he married Miss Elizabeth
Summers, who was a native of Alsace-Lor-
raine, where her parents had fled from
Switzerland on account of religious perse-
cution. She was born in 1802, and accom-
panied her husband to America in 1830.
They first located in Butler county, Ohio,
where they resided for twenty years, and in
October, 1850, came to McLean county,
and located in Danvers township, where
the mother died in 1885. They were the
parents of si.x children, of whom five lived
to maturity.
The subject of this sketch, when he
came to this country, landed in New Or-
leans, and thence went with his parents to
Butler county, Ohio. There he worked on
his father's farm, and received a limited ed-
ucation in the old log school house, He
was married December 17, 1844, to Miss
Barbara Roth, a native of his own country,
born March i, 1821, and who came to
America in 1842. She was also a devoted
member of the Mennonite church, and was
a brave assistant and helpmeet of her hus-
band in their earlier toils and struggles.
She departed this life April 27, 1881.
Their two children were Jacobina, the wife
of Joseph S. Augsrgur, and fourteen chil-
dren have been born to them, twelve of
whom are now living; one of the children,
Aaron, is a minister of the Mennonite
church. Christian R. married Miss Cath-
erine Strupher, and they are the parents of
three children, all living. Mr. Stuckey has
fifteen grand-children and seven great-
grand-children.
For his second wife Mr. Stuckey chose
Mrs. Magdelina (Roth) Habecker, to whom
he was married December 11, 1881. She
is also connected with the Mennonite
church. They occupy a pleasant and com-
fortable home in the village of Danvers,
and besides this property, our subject owns
two hundred acres of land in the township.
He has devoted more than a third of a cent-
ury of his life to the ministry, and in pur-
suance of the duties of his calling has
traveled over the states of Illinois, Iowa,
Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania, employed in the establish-
ment of churches, strengthening the weak,
administering the sacrament, and attending
to all the duties of a conscientious min-
ister. He is a strong temperance man, and
in politics affiliated with the Republican
party.
The Mennonite church derived its name
from Menno Simons, who was born in Fries-
land, in 1496. He was a Roman Catholic
priest and a man of studious character and
great learning. Leaving the mother church,
he devoted himself to theological study, and
published his book of doctrines in 1539.
After the taking of Muenster, and execution
of the leaders of the anti-Baptists, Menno
Simons gave himself to the winning of the
remnants of these deluded people from the
lawless fanaticism into which they had fal-
len, or had been led, and with older and
purer elements united them in the Neither-
lands and North Germany; and these adher-
ents to his view were known henceforth
as Mennonites. While some of the earlier
views of the anti-Baptists were retained by
this society, their fanatical violence was
228
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
completely set aside. The Mennonites were
carefully organized after what was regarded
as the primitive Congregational model.
They had ministers and deacons, and their
discipline was very strict. They take the
New Testament as their only rule of faith;
that the term Person and Trinity ought not
to be applied to the Son, Father, and Holy
Ghost; that there is no original sin; that in-
fants ought not to be baptized. They main-
tain that Christians should not bring law-
suits, demand interest, take oaths, or serve
as soldiers. Some of them adopted feet
washing in preparation of the Lord's supper.
They dropped all the views conversive of
civil rule, which has been held by the anti-
Baptists. Their ministry is unpaid, and for
the most part uneducated; yet of late there
have been some changes in this respect.
The Galenas established a seminary in
1735, and in this country some effort has
been made in theological education. Their
simple lives, thrifty habits, and fidelity to
promises, have made them many friends.
They obtained toleration in the Netherlands,
then in Germany and in England. Diversity
of views in regard to strictness in excommu-
nication, led to their division into the " free
or strict," and "coarse or mild." The
milder party divided on the question be-
tween Calvinism (the Aposistos) and Armin-
ianism (the Galenists). In 1801 the par-
ties united, the Galenists forming the major
part. In Holland there are one hundred
and twenty congregations and in Germania
about fourteen thousand members. In
Prussia they were relieved from the obliga-
tion to bear arms, and from the necessity
of taking oaths, official or judicial. In 1867
the North German federal constitution im-
posed on them the obligation of military
service. In 1783, nearly a century before
this, many emigrated from Prussia to Russia.
In 1870 they reached the number of forty
thousand. Here they enjoyed many privi-
leges, among which was freedom from mili-
tary service. They became rich and were
generally reckoned among the best subjects
of the crown. In 1871 they lost their
privilege from military service, and the
alternative was given between conscription
and emigration, and they were allowed ten
years in which to decide. They chose the
latter, and in 1873 the first body arrived in
New York, and from there proceeded to
Kansas, where they made a settlement.
The exodus became so great that the czar
was compelled to withdraw his order to stop
the movement. Before this time, however,
many had emigrated to the United States,
and thrifty societies had been established.
Upon the invitation of William Penn, in
1683, many came over and founded a set-
tlement at Germantown, near Philadelphia,
and in 1735 there were about five hundred
families settled in Lancaster county. There
are now about two hundred thousand of this
denomination, of whom about one hundred
and fifty thousand are in the United States,
and twenty-five thousand in Canada.
The Armist or Ornish Mennonites are more
rigid in discipline and dress, proscribing
even buttons as carnal vanities and luxuries.
The Reformed Mennonites arose in Lancas-
ter, Pennsylvania, in 181 1. Their aim is
to restore the ancient faith and practice of
their church. There are other subdivisions
of later origin. There are about three
thousand Mennonites in Illinois, fifty-two
ministers and nineteen bishops. The
church government is under one head, com-
posed of the bishops of all the churches.
Bishops and ministers are taken from the
ranks of the church. There ^re thre§
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
229
grades of officers — bishops, ministers and
elders. Ministers are ordained by bishops,
and bishops are ordained by two or more
bishops. The system of government is con-
gregational, and all the affairs are settled
by the congregation. They have no cate-
chism, and take the New Testament as a
guide. The old Testament they regard
more of a history.
The first building erected by the Men-
nonites in this section for religious purposes,
was across the line, in Woodford county, in
1853. In 1872 they erected anew building in
Danvers township, where the old and the new
congregations worship. The membership of
this society numbers about four hundred,
and is presided over by Rev. Joseph Stuckey.
THOMAS B. KILGORE is a prominent
representative of the farming and
stock-raising interests of McLean county,
having carried on operations along those
lines in Colfax for almost a third of a cen-
tury, though he now makes his home in
Bloomington. He is a man whose sound
common sense and vigorous, able manage-
ment of his affairs have been important fac-
tors in leading him to wealth, and with his
undoubted integrity of character have given
him an honorable position among his fellow
men.
Mr. Kilgore was born in West Jefferson,
Ohio, March 23, 1840, and is a worthy rep-
resentative of an honored pioneer family of
that state. His grandfather, Thomas Kil-
gore, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1789,
and in 1794 was taken by his parents to
Circleville, Ohio. The following year, how-
ever, they removed to Madison county, that
state, where the great-grandfather took up
quite a large tract of land. There the
grandfather continued to make his home
throughout life, and was one of the most
prominent and influential men of his com-
munity. He possessed a certain amount of
rough eloquence, his opinions always carried
weight, and as justice of the peace, he was
conveyancer and advisor to the early settlers
of his locality. He died in 1872, honored
and respected by all who knew him. He
married Miss Jane Patterson, daughter of
Robert Patterson, of Madison county, Ohio,
but formerly of Virginia. Both were active
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
to which the family also belonged.
John Kilgore, father of our subject, was
born in Plain City, Madison county, Ohio,
October 30, 181 5, and on reaching man's
estate he engaged in farming and stock deal-
ing there. Prosperity crowned his efforts in
life and he became the owner of four hun-
dred acres of valuable land there and one
thousand acres in Illinois. He was one of
the leading citizens of his community and
was called upon to serve in a number of
township offices. . He married Miss Malona
Case Beach, a daughter of Uriah Beach,
and a descendant of the Noble family which
was founded in New England in 1632.
They made their home in Columbus, Ohio,
until 1893, when they came to Blooming-
ton to visit their children. Here the fa-
ther was stricken with paralysis, but lin-
gered for over a year, dying January 19,
1895. The mother, who has been a life-
long member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and a true and earnest Christian, is
still living. In their family were four chil-
dren, of whom two also survive, Thomas
B., our subject, and J. M. Sarah A., the
wife of Samuel Stauffer, died in 1893, and
Albert died in i860, at the age of eleven
years.
230
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
During his boyhood and youth Thomas
B. Kilgore pursued his studies in the com-
mon schools and the Ohio Wesleyan Uni-
versity, and when his education was com-
pleted, he returned home, where he remained
until after the opening of the Rebellion. In
August, 1861, he enlisted in Company K,
First Ohio Cavalry, which was assigned to
the Army of the Cumberland and was under
the command of Generals Kilpatrick and
Sheridan. He participated in the battles of
Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, Corinth,
Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Kenesaw
mountain and Atlanta. Previous to its
evacuation, he rode around Atlanta and was
there at the expiration of his term of service.
At the battle of Chickamauga, he had a horse
shot from under him, but fortunately he
was never wounded.
Returning to his home in Ohio, Mr. Kil-
gore remained with his father until March,
1867, when he came to McLean county,
Illinois, and located at what is now Colfax,
where he purchased three hundred and
twenty acres of raw land, and built thereon
a small house. He at once turned his atten-
tion to the cultivation and improvement of
his place and as his financial resources in-
creased, he extended its boundaries until he
now has four hundred and eighty acres of
the best farming land to be found in the
county, it being richer and more productive
than when he first located thereon. He
has made all of the improvements upon the
place, including the erection of good and
substantial buildings. From the first he
has been interested in the raising and feed-
ing of stock, making a specialty of short horn
cattle. He is also largely interested in
horses, and has made two importations of
English Shires. Mr. Kilgore was one of the
incorporators of the Corn Belt Bank, of
Bloomington, and has been a director since
the start. He continued to live upon his
farm until the fall of 1888, when he moved
to Bloomington so that he might better ed-
ucate his children.
In April, 1867, Mr. Kilgore wedded Miss
Mary E. Batterton, of Lawndale township,
McLean county. Her father, Martin Bat-
terton, who is now ninety-two years of age,
his birth having occurred in 1807, was one
of the first settlers of this county. He came
here from Kentucky in 1831, and in 1833
entered the farm on which he still resides.
This honored pioneer has throughout these
many years been one of the most prominent
and highly respected men of Lawndale
township. He married Miss America Tay-
lor, who came here from Covington, Ken-
tucky, and died March 3, 1883, at the age
of sixty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Kilgore
have four children, namely: John M., a
farmer of Lexington, McLean county, mar-
ried Lucy Kennedy, and has two children,
Margine and Gaylord K. ; Lizzie is now the
wife of W. H. Welch, of Lexington; Maude
B. graduated from Wesleyan College with
the degree of A. B., and is now assistant
principal of the high school of Lexington ;
T. Beach is now a freshman of the Wesleyan
University. The wife and mother, who is a
most estimable lady, holds membership with
the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr.
Kilgore attends services with her and con-
tributes to its support. He is the oldest
member now living of Colfax Lodge, No.
799, F. & A. M., and also belongs to W. T.
Sherman Post, G. A. R., of Bloomington.
He is a pronounced Republican in politics,
and has filled a number of local offices,
serving as supervisor eleven years and school
treasurer sixteen years. In all the relations
of life he has been found true to every trust
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
231
reposed in him, and he receives and merits
the high regard of those with whom he has
come in contact, either in business or social
affairs.
ELLIS DILLON, deceased, was a pio-
neer of pioneers, having come to the
state in 1825, and few men were better
known in McLean and adjoining counties.
In fact he was well known throughout the
entire state, as well as in some of the
adjoining states, having been one of the
largest importers of horses in the entire coun-
try. He was born in Clinton county, Ohio,
March 25, 18 16, and was the son of Jesse
and Hannah (Pugh) Dillon, both of whom
were also natives of Ohio. In his native
state Jesse Dillon followed farming, contin-
uing in the same line after his removal to
this state. With his family he came to
Illinois in 1825 and located in Tazewell
county, in what was afterwards Dillon
township, and near the present town of
Tremont. His family consisted of eleven
children — John, Daniel, William, Aaron,
PhcEbe, Polly, Ellis, Katie, Jesse, James
and Lydia. The father died of consump-
tion many years ago. He was the son of
Daniel and Anna Dillon, and was born in
North Carolina in 1797, and was also one
of eleven children.
The subject of this sketch was nine
years old when he accompanied his parents
to Tazewell county, Illinois, and in that
county he grew to manhood and received a
limited education in the pioneer schools.
The country was in its primitive state when
the family settled there, and for several
years Indians were numerous in the vicinity
and were frequent callers at the cabins of
the settlers, much to the disgust of the
women. Wild game was very abundant
and easy to entrap or kill. But there was
much to do besides entertaining Indians and
killing wild game. The pioneer must work,
he must cultivate the soil, and there must
be no idlers among them. A lad of nine
years, there was something that even Ellis
could do, and he was compelled to do his
share of the farm labor. The schooling,
however, was a good one to him, and gave
him the rugged constitution that carried
him through more than foui; score years of
life.
Mr. Dillon was married three times.
He was first married in September, 1836,
to Miss Mary J. Fisher, by whom he had
one daughter, Malinda, who died at the age
of eleven years. His wife dying on the
19th of February, 1840, he married Miss
Mary Hudson, and they became the par-
ents of two children, both of whom died
in infancy. The second wife dying on the
9th of February, 1845, he married Miss
Martha Fisher, a sister of his first wife.
She was born in Clinton county, Ohio, July
10, 1827, and is a daughter of James and
Amy (Bennett) Fisher, who were both na-
tives of the same state. His life calling
was that of a farmer, which he followed in
Ohio as well as in this state. In 1828, with
his wife and six children, he left Ohio for
the prairie state, and on his arrival located
in Tazewell county, where he entered a tract
of land and commenced its cultivation. He
died October 22, 1844, while his wife sur-
vived him many years, dying on the nth of
September, 1861. They were the parents
of thirteen children, of whom Mrs. Dillon
was sixth in order of birth. The others
were Mary J., Susanna, Elizabeth, Jesse,
Isaac, Emily, Louisa, Stephen, Lydia, El-
vira, James L. and Amanda. To our sub-
232
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ject and wife were born five children, the
first born dying in infancy. Adolphus now
resides in Normal, where for a number of
years he engaged in the business of import-
ing and dealing in horses. He is also a
large landowner in McLean county, and is
now farming and stock raising. He mar-
ried Paulina Britt, and they have three chil-
dren: Harley D., Mertie M. and Bessie.
Alpheus died at the age of two years. Sarah
married Reuben Bright and they became
the parents of three children, of whom two
died in infancy. The living one is Bernice
A., who makes her home with Mrs. Dil-
lon, her grandmother. Mrs. Bright died
April 28, 1 88 1. Emma F. married Lyon
Karr, and they have one child, Helen.
They make their home in Eureka, Illinois.
Mr. Dillon commenced to take a lively
interest in stock raising at a very early day,
and always took a great pride in the busi-
ness, especially in raising fine horses. In
1865 he moved with his family to the city
of Bloomington, where they lived three
years and where he was employed in the
stock business. In 1868 he moved to Nor-
mal and continued in the same line for a
number of years. In 1870 he made his
first trip to Europe, where he made a large
purchase of French draft horses, which he
brought with him to this country. In the
stock business he was quite successful, con-
tinuing in the same until his death. He
made importations of horses in each of the
following years: 1 870-2-4-5-6-7-9, 1880-
1-2. In some of these years he made two
importations. His importations were soon
known throughout the length and breadth of
the land, and sales were made by him to
persons in various states of the Union. In
addition to his stock business, he engaged to
some extent in farming. He was the owner
of two hundred acres of land, part of which
was within the corporate limits of the city
of Normal and the remainder adjoining.
This land is now occupied by his widow, a
portion of it being rented by the Phoeni.x
Nursery Company and the remainder kept
in pasture.
The early life of Mr. Dillon was filled
with the thrilling incidents common to the
pioneers of this locality, and his recollec-
tions of early times were quite clear almost
to the end of his life. His stories of the
Indians, of the deep snow, and the great
sudden change in the weather, were most
interesting to the younger generation. He
was also a great friend of the colored man,
and many interesting accounts are told of
how he assisted many runaway slaves to
their freedom during slavery days. When
but a boy he said that if he lived to see the
darkies free he would then think that he had
lived long enough. He was instrumental
in organizing the Colored Christian Church
in Normal, and ever stood ready to lend a
helping hand in its welfare. In his death
the colored people of Normal lost their best
friend.
In politics, Mr. Dillon, as might be in-
ferred, was a strong Republican, and espe-
cially was he with his party on the great
issue that called it into existence. For five
terms he served as supervisor of his town-
ship and made an efficient member of the
board. As school director he served three
terms, and in the public schools he was
always greatly interested.
Mr. Dillon was called to his reward on
the 13th of April, 1899, when a little more
than eighty-three years old. In 1838 he
united with the Christian church, and for
sixty-one years was an earnest and constant
worker in that body. He had an abiding
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
233
faith in tiie religion of Christ and was an
earnest advocate of the union of all God's
people. Mrs. Dillon, who survives him, is
also a devoted member of that church.
CHARLES H. LAKE, a well-known and
highly respected citizen of Blooming-
ton, is the possessor of a handsome prop-
erty which now enables him to spend his
declining years in the pleasureable enjoy-
ment of his accumulations. The record of
his early life is that of an active, enterpris-
ing, methodical and sagacious business man,
who bent his energies to the honorable ac-
quirement of a comfortable competence for
himself and family.
Mr. Lake was born in Pleasant Valley,
Fulton county. New York, January 31,
1830, and comes of good old Revolutionary
stock, his great-grandfather, John Lake,
having aided the colonies in their successful
struggle for independence. He was a resi-
dent of the Empire state and lived to a
ripe old age. Crapo Lake, the grandfather
of our subject, took up arms against the
mother country in the war of 18 12, and aided
in the defense of the country which his father
had helped to free. He was probably born
in Dutchess county, New York, where he
followed farming throughout his active busi-
ness life and where his death occurred.
Joshua Lake, our subject's father, was
born in Pleasant Valley, Dutchess county.
New York, in 1807, and there during early
life he became thoroughly familiar with the
manufacture of woolen goods. Prior to his
marriage he removed to Fulton county,
New York, and in partnership with Eleazer
Wells, he built and operated a woolen mill
at Johnstown, then the county seat. It was
considered a large mill at that time and con-
12
tained all the various departments, and was
one of the two factories at that place.
Closing up his business there in 1843, Mr.
Lake removed to the town of Oakfield,
Genesee county, which was then considered
quite far west and there engaged in farming,
making a speciality of raising wheat. His
next home was in Lockport, Niagara
county, the same state, where he purchased
land and followed agricultural pursuits until
death, in 1875. He was married near
Johnstown to Miss Elizabeth Soule, who
was born and reared in Pleasant Valley,
and was a daughter of Peleg Soule, a native
of Providence, Rhode Island, and an early
settler of Fulton county. New York. To
them were born six children, who reached
years of maturity, and of these our subject
is the eldest and the only one living west of
Buffalo, New York. The mother died in
1873. Both parents were members of the
Universalist church and were held in high
respect by all who knew them.
Charles H. Lake accompanied his par-
ents on their various removals, and acquired
his education in the schools of Johnstown,
New York, and of Genesee county and
Lockport. Until eighteen years of age he
remained upon the home farm, assisting his
father in the arduous task of clearing away
the timber and breaking the land. He then
served a three years' apprenticeship to the
carpenters and joiner's trade, and later en-
gaged in contracting and building as a mem-
ber of the firm of Simmons & Lake, erect-
ing many of the stores, churches and pri-
vate residences in Youngstown, besides
many buildings in the surrounding country.
He did an extensive business there until
1857, when he came to Bloomington. He
first purchased land in Old Town township,
but three years later removed to Lexington
234
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
township and from there to Shirley, where
he turned his attention to general farming
and the raising of horses. In 1S7S, he went
to Funks Grove, where he bought a large
farm and gave more attention to the breed-
ing of English draft, Norman and other
heavy horses, in which business he met with
most excellent success. When he took
possession of the farm at Funks Grove it
was run down, but he erected thereon a
comfortable and commodious residence and
substantial outbuildings, making it one of
the most attractive and desirable country
homes the in county. He still owns that
farm, but in December, 18S8, he removed
to Bloomington, where he owns a beautiful
home on McLean street, near Franklin
Park — one of the most fashionable quarters
of the city. After coming to Bloomington
he became interested in fast horses, and
was half owner of Prince Hal, a half brother
of Hal Pointer. This horse, considered one
of the finest in his day, was started at Terre
Haute, Indiana, in 1891, and run his fourth
race in 2:16. After owning him for two
years, Mr. Lake sold the horse for eight
thousand dollars, the most ever paid for a
horse in Bloomington. In this venture our
subject met with success. Owing to ill
health he is now living retired, having laid
aside all business cares.
On the 27th of August, 1857, Mr. Lake
was united in marriage with Miss Ruby Dye,
of Porter, Niagara county, New York, a
daughter of Kenyon Dye. She departed
this life in 1883, leaving three children,
namely: Frank L. , who is engaged in fann-
ing west of McLean, married Anna Boland,
and has four children, Herbert, Bernice,
Ivan and Ruby; Charles H., Jr., married
Addie Crane and now operates the old
homestead; and Cora is the wife of Charles
Boland, of Wapella, Illinois, and has two
children. La Verne and Neoline. Mr.
Lake was again married December 26,
1 883, to Nina Webb, of Twinn Grove. She
is an earnest member of the Christian
church, and presides with gracious dignity
over their beautiful home. In political senti-
ment, Mr. Lake is a Republican, and he has
filled many township offices while living
on his farm, including that of supervisor.
At one time he was an active member of
the Grange and now holds membership in
McLean Lodge, F. & A. M. The success
that he has achieved in life is entirely due to
his own well directed efforts and he has
made for himself an honorable record.
GEORGE W. BOWMAN, alderman of
the fourth ward of Bloomington, is a
well-known contractor and builder, of whose
skill and ability many notable examples are
to be seen throughout the city. Thoroughly
reliable in all things, the quality of his
work is a convincing test of his own per-
sonal worth, and the same admirable trait
is shown in his conscientious discharge of
the duties of different positions of trust and
responsibility to which he has been chosen
in business and political life.
Mr. Bowman was born in Germantown,
Stokes county, North Carolina, June 19,
1 847, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Fowler)
Bowman. The father was born in Guilford
county, that state, in 1810. The grandfa-
ther, Henry Bowman, was of Pennsylvania-
Dutch stock and was one of a colony who
settled in Germantown, North Carolina, at
an early day. The father was reared and
educated in his native state. When quite
young he joined the Methodist Episcopal
church, and at the age of seventeen was
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
235
licensed a minister. For half a century he
was connected with the North Carolina
conference, during which time he had charge
of churches in Winston, Salem and Surrey.
He was a strong Union man during the civil
war and on account of his belief his life
was often threatened, but being a minister
he was not forced from the community. He
is still living, an honored and respected old
gentleman, and finds a pleasant home with
our subject. The wife and mother departed
this life in 1886, at the age of seventy-five
years. She was a daughter of Elijah and
Frances Fowler, who were of English birth.
They, too, were residents of Stokes county.
North Carolina, until 1852, when they came
to McLean county, Illinois, where Mr.
Fowler engaged in farming in Dry Grove
township until his death. Our subject is
one of a family of eleven children, four sons
and seven daughters, who in order of birth
are as follows: Mrs. Hester Ann Rumbley,
of St. Augustine, Florida; Mrs. Martha
George, of Winston, North Carolina; Mag-
gie; Susan, deceased; Joseph; David, de-
ceased; George W. ; Elizabeth, deceased;
Peter; Mrs. Rebecca Wrigley; and Laura,
deceased.
George W. Bowman attended the sub-
scription schools of Germantown, but as the
schools were poor his education was limited.
When the civil war broke out his sympa-
thies were with the north, but soon after he
attained his sixteenth year he was forced
into the Confederate army under an act of
the Confederate congress, conscripting all
able-bodied men from the age of sixteen to
sixty. He enlisted in General Breckenridge's
First Tennessee Battery of Light Artillery,
and joined the regiment at Lead Mines on
New river, in southwestern Virginia, in July,
1864. He joined this battery so that he
might get farther north and west, hoping to
make his way through the lines, as prior to
his conscription he had wished to get north
and join the Union army. He was in active
service until February, 1865, participating
in the engagements around Wythville, Ma-
rion and Washington Salt Works, Virginia,
and Bristol, Greenville, Knoxville and Jones-
ville, Tennessee. During all this time he
faithfully obeyed the Confederate orders,
but was firm in his purpose to join the Un-
ion army. The first opportunity that he
deemed safe which presented itself was when
he was detached from the battery and de-
tailed to take some horses back to North
Carolina, near the Tennessee line. After
delivering them he made his way over the
mountains into East Tennessee, and at
Jonesboro found the stars and stripes of the
Federal army. He went into camp under a
white flag and was closely scrutinized and
examined to see that he was not a spy, but
being a mere boy he was finally released.
Stopping for a time in Greenville, Knox-
ville, Chattanooga and Nashville, he worked
at anything he could find to do and finally
made his way north, arriving in Blooming-
ton, April, 1865, clothed in his rebel uni-
form. His grandfather had died, but his
mother's people gave him shelter. It was
July before he was able to let his parents
know where he was, and in the meantime
they supposed he had been killed by the
bushwhackers in the mountains of Ten-
nessee.
During the first summer and fall spent
in McLean county, Mr. Bowman worked on
a farm, and in the winter attended school.
In 1866 he commenced learning the mason's
trade, at which he served a three-years'
apprenticeship, and then worked as a
journeymen, his employer soon making him
236
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
foreman. On the third of July, 1869, he
married Miss Elizabeth Davis, of Blooming
Grove, a daughter of John M. Davis, a well-
known farmer of that place. They made
their home in Bloomington until 1872, Mr.
Bowman being engaged in business as a con-
tractor in masonry. Having accumulated
some money, he decided to go west, and
with his wife and two children, Grant and
Edward, he made his way to Nebraska,
where he located. During his residence
there his older son died, and as his wife
was in ill health their physician advised
him to bring her back to her native state
that she might recover her usual strength.
After disposing of his effects he returned to
Bloomington, where he arrived in February,
1874, with only twenty dollars with which
to start in life anew. He resumed business
in the city, but for a time lived just south
of here on a small tract of land which he
purchased. He has since done a success-
ful business as a contractor and builder,
erecting many of the best business blocks in
the city, and has given employment to
many men. He has also done considerable
contracting elsewhere in the county. He
He has a pleassnt home on East Clay street,
where he has lived for the past twelve years
and also owns other property in Blooming-
ton.
Mr. and Mrs. Bowman have five chil-
dren living, namely: Edward, who mar-
ried Lillie George, and is engaged in busi-
ness in Washington, D. C. ; Claude, a resi-
dent of Bloomington, who married Edna
Rhoades and has one child, Glenn; Maude,
wife of Warren S. Bryant, an employe of
the Chicago & Alton Railroad, who resides
in Bloomington, and by whom she has two
children, Grace and Irene; and Grace and
Lee, both at home. The parents both hold
membership in the First Methodist Episco-
pal church, and socially Mr. Bowman is a
member of the Knights of the Globe. He
was an active member and president for two
years of the Builders' & Traders' Exchange,
and has always been prominently identified
with the^Republican party. While a resi-
dent of Blooming Grove he served as school
director for nine years, in which position he
rendered his fellow citizens most efficient
service, being greatly missed as a school
worker when he left the district. After
coming to Bloomington, he took no active
part in public affairs until the spring of
1898, when he was elected alderman of the
fourth ward by a large majority, over Mr.
Martin, a strong opponent and an ex-mem-
ber of the council. During his first year as
a member of the board, he was on the fire
department, public buildings and grounds,
and sidewalk committees. His public and
private life are above reproach, for his
career has ever been one characterized by
the utmost fidelity to duty.
DR. OWEN T. HANSON, D. D. S.,
of Lexington, Illinois, has the repu-
tation of being a dentist of rare skill and
ability, one who is an honor to the profes-
sion. He is a native of McLean county,
born on section 24, Gridley township, the
homestead of his parents, February 26,
1 86 1, is a son of William and Frances E.
(Walston) Hanson, both of whom were
natives of Pickaway county, Ohio, the
father born in 1825. His early life was
spent much as that of other farmer boys,
attending school during the winter months,
and assisting in farm work during the re-
mainder of the year. This was continued
until he was nineteen years old, when he
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
237
decided to secure a better education than
that afforded in the common schools, and to
that end entered Normal University, Nor-
mal, Illinois, where he spent two years in
study. For the next four years he was
engaged in teaching in the public schools of
McLean, Woodford and Livingston coun-
ties, his last term being with the Panola
school.
While engaged in teaching, Mr. Hanson
made up his mind that he would engage in
dentistry as a profession, and to that end
spent abuut eighteen months with Dr. J. A.
Schofield, of El Paso. In 1885 he entered
the Ohio Dental College, of Cincinnati, and
taking the regular course, in 1887 he was
graduated with the degree of D. D. S. He
then came to Lexington, and with a debt
of three hundred and fifty dollars hanging
over him, which was contracted in securing his
professional education, he purchased the
office and good will of Dr. C. T. Gray, and
at once commenced active practice, and has
since given it his entire time and attention.
He has always tried to keep up with all the
latest improvements in his profession, and
with this end in view took a post graduate
course, in 1897, in the Chicago Dental Col-
lege, now recognized as one of the best in-
stitutions of the kind in the country, and
which is well supplied with every appliance
known to the profession, and its faculty be-
ing composed of the most skillful and well
read men.
On the 4th of June, 1891, Dr. Hanson
was united in marriage, in his own home in
Lexington, to Miss Edith Kneeland, who
was born in New York city, and daughter
of E. H. Kneeland, a highly educated man,
who during his residence in the east gave
his life to the cause of education, teaching
in the gcbools of New York city. He was
widely known in the electrical field as a lec-
turer on electricity. He was also a frequent
and valuable contributor to such well known
journals as the Scientific American, as well
as other periodicals devoted to scientific
subjects. A sister of his, now a resident of
Washington, D. C. , is widely known in the
lecture field, especially in temperance work.
On account of ill health Mr. Kneeland left
the city, came west, and located in Dwight,
Illinois, and engaged in agricultural pur-
suits. At that time Mrs. Hanson was but
seven years of age. She is a highly edu-
cated woman, having graduated from the
high school at Dwight, and finishing her
education in Wesleyan University, at
Bloomington. For three years prior to her
marriage she was assistant principal of the
Lexington high school. Two children have
come to bless the union of the Doctor and
his wife, Frances and Cecil.
In politics. Dr. Hanson is a stanch Re-
publican, but he is not a politician in the
ordinary sense of the term, neither is he
an office seeker. He takes an active inter-
est in everything beneficial to his adopted
city and county, especially is he interested
in the cause of education. For three suc-
cessive terms of three years he has served
on the school board,- and for five years he
acted as secretary of the board. He was
one of the building committee during the
erection of the new school house, which is
a credit to the city and county, and for
three years has been chairman of the
grounds and building committee. He has
also taken an active part in the organiza-
tion and maintenance of the Lexington
Public Library, and is one of the directors
of the association.
Fraternally, Dr. Hanson is a member of
Ideal Lodge, No. 338, K. P., and of Mc-
238
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Lean Lodge, No. 206, I. O. O. F., and in
the latter organization is now past grand.
He is also a member of the Modern Wood-
men of America, holding membership with
the camp at Lexington. He is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has
been quite active in church work. He
served for several years as superintendent
of the Sunday school, and for several years
has been leader of the choir and chorister
in the Sunday school. Mrs. Hanson is also
a member of the same church and like her
husband has been active in all church work.
In 1893 the Doctor erected his present
tasty and comfortable residence, and his
home is the center of social life and activity
in Lexington, both he and his wife being
good entertainers. They are held in the
highest esteem by all, and exert an in-
fluence for good in the community. His
professional skill is acknowledged by all,
and he has been fairly successful in a finan-
cial way. In addition to his home in
the city, he has a farm of sixty acres in
Gridley township, which is rented.
ALFRED J. WELCH, a well-known
farmer and stock raiser of Downs town-
ship, owns and operates a fine farm of
three hundred acres on section 18. He is
a native of McLean county, and was born
in Downs township, July 5, 1855, and
grew to manhood on the home farm. His
education, began in the district schools of
Downs township, was completed in Wes-
leyan University, which he attended for
several terms. After leaving the institu-
tion, at the age of twenty-three years, he
located on the farm where he now resides,
and which then contained two hundred and
twenty-six acres, and at once commenced
life for himself. Soon after locating on
the place, he erected a large and substan-
tial farm residence, and made various im-
provements on the farm of a most substan-
tial character. His farm is well tilled, and is
always kept under a high state of cultivation.
His farming is of a general character, in-
cluding stock raising, giving special atten-
tion to the latter line of his business. He
annually feeds and prepares for the market
about three car loads of stock, for which
he receives the highest price.
On the 1 8th of November, 1879, Mr.
Welch was united in marriage with Miss
Belle Fulton, a native of the county, and
who was before her marriage a teacher by
profession. She is a sister of Albert Ful-
ton, whose sketch appears on another page
of this work. By this union there are five
children — Nettie B., Archie Dean, Lois,
Freddie and Dorris — all of whom are
students in the home school, save the
youngest.
The first presidential vote cast by Mr.
Welch was for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876,
since which time he has voted for every
presidential nominee of the party. He is
a strong believer in the principles of the
Republican party, and supports its ticket
in national, state, county and township
elections. For sixteen years he has been
a member of the school board, a part of
which times he has served as its president.
He believes in good schools and in the best
that can be had, always regarding it as
poor economy in the hiring of an inefficient
teacher in order to save a few dollars for
the time being, thus requiring the student's
longer attendance in the school room. He
is a member of the United Brethren church,
while his wife is a member of the Method-
ist Episcopal. They both take an active
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
239
interest in the cause of the Master, and
endeavor to do their duty faithfully for the
extension of the kingdom of Christ on
earth. Fraternally he is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both
of the subordinate lodge and encampment,
his membership being with the order in
Bloomington. A well known citizen of the
township, he is regarded as one of its best
.farmers, and socially he and his family are
greatly esteemed. In the twenty-one years
in which he has been actively engaged in
the cultivation of the farm he has toiled
hard, and success has in a measure crowned
all his efforts.
FREDERICK T. ASHTON, one of the
most prominent musicians of Blooming-
ton, was born in that city, July 15, 1871,
a son of William H. and Eliza (Pottinger)
Ashton. The father was born in London,
in 1 8 19, and was reared and educated there
as a musician and choir master, playing in
Covent Garden and other London theatres.
There he was married, and, coming to the
United States in 18—, he has been a resi-
dent of Bloomington for a third of a cent-
ury. Here he has engaged in the shoe busi-
and at the present time is also a dealer in
men's furnishing goods. For a number of
years he was in charge of choirs of different
churches here. His wife holds member-
ship in the Congregational church. In
their family are eight children, four sons
and four daughters, of whom our subject is
the youngest.
Frederick T. Ashton acquired his liter-
ary education in the public schools of
Bloomington, and his musical edcuation
was begun as soon as he was able to hold
gp instryment. When he was fourteen
years of age a company came to the city
wanting an orchestra, and he with three
others were chosen. He traveled with the
company for four months and had charge of
the little orchestra, but as he was not given
Jiis salary his father brought him home.
He next played first violin in Schroder's
Opera House here, and during the two
years he was thus employed he gained much
practical experience and also kept up his
studies at the same time. At the age of
seventeen he went to Chicago, and in the
large music house of Lyon & Healy was
employed in the stringing room, testing and
stringing all new instruments. While there
he studied with Professor Singer and also a
noted Swedish violinist.
Mr. Durkee, superintendent of Lyon &
Healy's factory, having become interested
in oar subject, arranged for a course, and
he made great progress during the two
years spent in that establishment. Resign-
ing his position there, he traveled with a
theatrical company all over the south, and
on his return to Bloomington at the end of
that time he took charge of the orchestra
in the Durley theatre, and also engaged in
teaching music. Later he spent one season
with a thoroughly first class opera company
which put on the Mascot and other popular
operas and played in only the best cities.
At the age of twenty he was leader of an
orchestra in Cincinnati, where he was
obliged to correct men much older in order
to keep the music up to the required stand-
ard. An old German whom he thus cor-
rected would not speak to him for a week,
but finally came to him and offered him
three hundred and fifty dollars for his
violin. This instrument he values at five
hundred dollars, but it is not for sale. The
opera company with which Mr, Ashton was
240
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
connected was in Albany, New York, at the
close of the season, and from there he
went to New York City, where for seven
weeks he was ill in Bellevue hospital before
he was able to look for an engagement, his
mother believing him studying harmony
during this time. As he had exhausted his
money, he was obliged to leave the hospital,
as he would not submit to the treatment he
received there as a charity patient, and
finally found an old friend who cared for
him until the arrival of his brother, who
remained with him until his recovery. Re-
turning to Bloomington, in 1 891, he opened
a school of music, giving lessons on the
violin, mandolin, guitar and banjo, and as
he was then the only teacher of the kind in
the city, and there was no competition, he
met with success from the start. His
school was located at No. 409 North Main
street. During the '80s he had also en-
gaged in teaching and had established the
old mandolin orchestra, which is still in
existence, and of which he again has
charge. In 1892 he became the leader of
the orchestra of the Grand Opera House,
but at the end of a season he was taken
ill and the ' doctor advised a change.
The following season was spent on the
road with the Spooner Comedy Company,
and on his return to Bloomington in
1893 he reopened his school and again took
charge of the mandolin orchestra, both of
which he has since conducted. His services
are in great demand for weddings, recep-
tions and all high class work of which he
makes a specialty, and since February,
1897, he has had charge of the Grand
opera house orchestra. His musical ability
and success as a leader is well known to all
theatre goers, and the orchestra in their
dress suits presents a good appearance as
well as furnishing the public with the best
of music. In 1898, as manager and di-
rector, he took permanent charge of De
Molay's Band, which gives frequent con-
certs and has won an enviable reputation
throughout this section of the country. He
practically has control of all the musical
organizations in the city, a rather remark-
able thing for a man as young as he. He
has as many as twenty-five musicians who
have been under his direction for a number
of years, and by treating them with kind-
ness and as gentlemen, he has gained their
entire confidence and respect. In token of
their esteem, the orchestra presented him
with a beautiful gold watch.
On the 6th of June, 1893, Mr. Ashton
married Miss Elberta M. Richie, of Colfax,
Illinois, a daughter of Christian Richie, and
to them has been born a daughter, Doris
E. They are members of. the Second Pres-
byterian church, with which Mr. Ashton
united about six years ago, and he has had
charge of a number of church orchestras.
Mr. Ashton has composed many popular
airs — beginning at the age of sixteen years.
Usually, he does his composing after re-
turning from parties. Recently he has
formed a stock company among the mem-
bers of his own orchestra for the purpose of
publishing his compositions. His latest
success is the Gay Tally-Ho, a popular two-
step march.
WILLIAM HAYES BEAVER. Every-
where in our land are found men who
have worked their own way from humble
beginning to leadership in commerce, the
great productive industries, the manage-
ment of financial affairs, and in controlling
the veins and arteries of traffic and exchang-
WILLIAM H. BEAVER.
'the new YOhK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX
TILDtN FOUNDATIONS
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
243
es of the country. It is one of the glories
of our nation that it is so. It should be the
strongest incentive and encouragement to
the youth of the country that it is so.
Prominent among the self-made men of Illi-
nois is the subject of this sketch — the well
known lawyer of Bloomington.
Mr. Beaver was born in Lewisburg,
Union county, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1856,
a son of Adam and Rebecca (Royer) Bea-
ver. On the paternal side he traces his an-
cestry back to Valentine Beiber (as the name
was then spelled), who came to this country
from Germany about 1747 or 1748, embark-
ing at Hamburg. His son, Adam Beaver,
the great-grandfather of our subject, helped
to lay out the town of Lewisburg, Pennsyl-
vania, but was driven away by the Indians,
and going to Philadelphia to sell town lots
he there enlisted in the colonial army for
the Revolutionary war, and was in the serv-
ice from the beginning of hostilities until
peace was once more restored. He was
shot at the battle of Brandywine, but not
seriously wounded. After the war he lo-
cated in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania,
where he married and made his home
throughout the remainder of his life. The
grandfather, John Beaver, was born near
Muncie, Pennsylvania, at what is called the
Beaver settlement, and in early manhood
moved to Union county, that state, where
he married Anna Baker, and with the excep-
tion of one year continued to live in that
county until called from this life. He was
a good farmer and a Jacksonian Democrat
in politics. Adam Beaver, our subject's fa-
ther, was born in Union county, July 10,
1 8 16, and was reared as a farmer boy upon
the old Beaver homestead. In early life he
learned the carpenter's trade, but later con-
ducted a drug business for twenty-five years
and engaged in preaching as a Dunkard
minister, both he and his wife being mem-
bers of that religious denomination. They
made their home in Lewisburg until 1871,
when they removed to Hartleton, Union
county, where the father died January 5,
1898, honored and respected by all who
knew him. He always took an active in-
terest in political affairs, and voted with the
Republican party after its organization in
1856. He left five children, of whom our
subject is next to the youngest. The moth-
er was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl-
vania, but when a child of ten or twelve
years she accompanied her parents on their
removal to Union county. Her father, Joel
Royer, was a farmer by occupation and be-
came a rich land owner in the latter county.
Her grandfather, Christopher Royer, was
one of the earliest settlers of Lancaster
county. The Royers in this country are de-
scended from a royal French family, of
Alsace, which was founded in Maryland
about 1750.
William H. Beaver began his education
in the schools of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
It was his father's intention to make him a
farmer and with that in view he was bound
out to his uncle at the age of twelve years,
and until he was seventeen he followed ag-
ricultural pursuits through the summer
months and attended the district schools
during the winter season. Going to Mil-
ton, Pennsylvania, in 1874, he apprenticed
himself as a blacksmith to Seidell & Tilden,
carriage builders, and during his term of
three years, he received his board and
twenty-five dollars the first year, fifty the
second and seventy-five the third. He then
had charge of the shop as chief blacksmith
for one year, but on account of the hard
times he returned home in 1877, remaining
244
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
there six months. In 1878, he resumed
work at his trade for George Hunt, a car-
riage manufacturer of Danville, Pennsylva-
nia, remaining with him until November i,
of that j'ear, when he began teaching at the
Marsh school, a mile south of Milton. The
next two years he taught at Ephrata, Penn-
sylvania, where the first paper mill in the
United States was established, and where
bullets of paper were manufactured during
the Revolutionary war. Mr. Beaver was
there during the years 1879 and 1880, pre-
vious to which time he had taken up the
study of Latin and other branches, and for
one term was a student in the Lewisburg
University, where he completed the fresh-
man year.
It was in May, 1881, that Mr. Beaver
came to Illinois and first settled at Lena,
where he worked at his trade for A. Shan-
non until the following July. He then
joined his brother John in Chicago, and to-
gether they came to Bloomington, it being
the intention of the latter, who was a drug-
gist, to buy a store here, but being taken ill
he did not do so. Our subject then accepted
a book agency, and went to Burlington,
Iowa, to sell Bibles and albums, in which
he invested all his money, but the house
absconded and he was compelled to sell his
books as best he could to pay his bills. He
returned to Bloomington with fifty-five
cents in his pocket and ninety dollars'
worth of books sold on three months' time.
Mr. Beaver then entered the law office
of Tipton & Ryan, and read law with that
firm and with Judge Tipton until admitted
to the bar, in June, 1883, after which he
opened an office and engaged in practice
alone. In 1884 he was a candidate for the
office of state's attorney, and though almost
an entire stranger, he went into the con-
vention with eleven delegates. The oppos-
ing candidates offered him the position of
assistant state's attorney if he would with-
draw, but he refused this, though he left
his delegates at liberty to vote as they
saw fit. In the spring of 1885 he formed a
partnership with Judge Tipton, under the
firm name of Tipton & Beaver, which con-
nection was dissolved in July, 1S89, and he
then engaged in practice with R. L. Flem-
ing until September, 1890.
In the meantime, Mr. Beaver assisted
in organizing the Equitable Loan & Invest-
ment Association, of which he was elected
secretary, and served in that capacity and
as attorney for the same until three years
ago, when he gave up the latter position,
as his duties had become too arduous, and
was succeeded by Mr. Barry, of the firm of
Fifer & Barry. As secretary and manager,
he devoted his entire time and attention
to the business of the association. It was
mainly to our subject that the success of
the enterprise was due, for he served as its
manager from the start and displayed re-
markable business and executive ability in
the conduct of its affairs.
On the 3d of September, 1885, Mr.
Beaver was united in marriage with Miss Ida
Brand, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George
Brand, and to them have been born five chil-
dren, namely: George Thomas; John Hayes;
Margherita E. ; Robert, deceased; and Will-
iam. Both Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are active
and prominent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which he is serving as
steward, and he is also connected with the
Young Men's Christian Association. He
was one of the organizers of the Blooming-
ton Club, and has always taken an active
part in political affairs, as a duty and not as
an office-seeker, though he was once the
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
HS
candidate of the Republican party for alder-
man of his ward. He has a lovely home on
East Grove street, where the many friends
of the family are always sure of a hearty
welcome, for there hospitalit}' reigns su-
preme. The life of Mr. Beaver is a living
illustration of what ability, energy and force
of character can accomplish, and the city
and state has been enriched by his example.
It is to such men that the west owes its
prosperity, its rapid progress and its ad-
vancement.
JOHN MOONEY, residing on section 9,
Randolph township, is numbered
among the substantial and well-known
farmers of the south part of McLean county,
who, by his own labor and enterprise, has
acquired a valuable and well-improved farm
of nearly two hundred acres, and which lies
within two miles of the village of Heyworth.
He was born June 22, 1833, in County
Wexford, Ireland, and comes from a long
line of noted ancestry, and the family is
still living on the old farm they have occu-
pied for over a century. The father, grand-
father and great-grandfather were all named
John, and were prominent among the hon-
est yeomanry of Wexford county. John
Mooney, the father, was born on the same
farm as the subject of this sketch, and
there assisted his father in carrying on the
old farm. He married Eliza Ellison, a
Scotch lady, and they became the parents
of three sons and five daughters, John, our
subject, being third in order of birth. Of
the family there are two sons and three
daughters yet living. The grandfather of
our subject died at the age of one hundred
and seven years, while his father died at
the age of ninety-five years.
John Mooney grew to manhood in his
native land, and there received a fair com-
mon-school education. He came to the
United States in 1859, taking passage on
an old sailing vessel, and was si.x weeks in
crossing the Atlantic, encountering some
severe weather while on the way. The
ship was badly damaged, and this was its
last voyage before being condemned. After
landing in New York Mr. Mooney came
direct to Illinois, locating first in DeWitt
county, where he went to work as a farm
hand for William Quinlan, working by the
month, for which he received twelve dollars
per month. He remained with Mr. Quin-
lan for seven years, at the end of which
time he came into McLean county and pur-
chased the place where he now resides, a
tract of one hundred acres. On the place
was an old farm house, into which he
moved, and in which he lived for several
years, while he further improved the place.
He put out an orchard, together with shade
and ornamental trees, fenced and tiled the
land, and later bought an additional eighty
acres adjoining. More recently he pur-
chased thirty-one acres of timber land, giv-
ing him two hundred and eleven acres.
Within a few years he has erected a good
and substantial dwelling house, built good
barns and other outbuildings, and put the
farm in excellent shape. On the place he
has a well of never-failing water, and all the
surroundings of the farm show the taste and
skill of the owner, and show him to be one
of the best farmers in the township. He
commenced life in this country without a
dollar, and by his own labor, industry and
enterprise succeeded in securing a large and
valuable farm, and has made an honored
name in the land of his adoption.
Mr. Mooney has been twice married,
246
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
first in 1867, to Miss Anna Maria Daneher,
a native of Ireland. She died in 1885,
after which he made a trip to his native
land, visiting his parents, brothers, sisters
and friends in the old home. He was gone
six months, during which time he visited
some of the most important cities in Great
Britain. Returning home, on the 7th of
December, 1887, he was united in marriage
with Miss Cornelia Minton, who was born
and reared in Claybourne county, Tennes-
see, and daughter of Philip Minton, who
was born in Washington county, Virginia,
and who went to Tennessee when a young
man, and was there married to Mrs. Rachel
Hodges, itce Huddleston, a widow lady.
They became the parents of five children,
Mrs. Mooney being the only daughter. She
came to Illinois with her brother, and here
gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Mooney.
To Mr. and Mrs. Mooney four children have
been born, of whom only the youngest,
Esther Margaret, is now living. Two sons
died in infancy, and one daughter, Ellisee,
at the age of seven years.
On coming to this country Mr. Mooney
identified himself with the Republican party,
and has since supported its men and meas-
ures in all national elections. In local elec-
tions, he usually votes for the man he re-
gards as best qualified to fill the office for
which he is running. He never wanted or
sought office for himself, but was elected
and served as road commissioner two years,
and also served two terms as a member of
the school board. Mrs. Mooney is a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Heyworth, and while Mr. Mooney is not a
member of any church organization, he at-
tends church with his wife and assists in its
support. He was, however, reared in the
Episcopal faith,
Mr. Mooney has been a resident of Illi-
nois for forty years, and of McLean county
for thirty-one years, during which time he
has made a most valuable citizen, and is
well known in Bloomington, the south part
of McLean, and the north part of DeWitt
counties. He is a man of most exemplary
habits, very domestic in his tastes, a great
lover of home and family. His estimable
wife is a true helpmeet to him, a believer in
her husband's many excellent qualities, and
they live and work harmoniously together.
They are held in high esteem, and their
many friends will be pleased to read this
short history of their lives.
ALBERT K. WHITE, who is now suc-
cessfully engaged in the real estate
and money loaning business in Blooming-
ton, was born in Harrison county, Ohio,
November 23, 1848. His father, David
White, was born in Harrison county, Ohio,
March 10, 1826, of Pennsylvania Dutch an-
cestry, and in early life began farming in
Ohio, where he was married, December 24,
1847, to Miss Nancy Wright. They made
their home upon a farm in the Buckeye
state until the fall of 1854, when they came
to Bloomington and the following year lo-
cated upon a farm in Old Town township,
McLean county. They are now living in
Heyworth and are leading members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, of that place,
with which the father is officially connected.
Throughout his active business life he has
engaged in agricultural pursuits with the ex-
ception of one year, and has met with most
excellent success, winning a comfortable
competence as well as the high regard of
the entire community in which he live§.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
247
Albert K. White was educated in the
schools near his boyhood home, pursuing
his studies for some time after coming to
McLean county, in the log building known
as the Campbell school. He remained upon
the home farm with his father until he at-
tained his majority and then started out in
life for himself as a farm hand. Later he
engaged in farming on his own account in
Empire township. During this time he was
married, March 4, 1879, to Miss Sarah E.
Heffling, a daughter of Lindley Heffling, of
that township, and they now have two sons,
Francis M. and Luther Earle.
Prior to 1865, Mr. White carried on
operations in Old Town township, and then
removed to Empire township, where he
continued to make his home for three years
after his marriage. The following three
years were passed in DeWitt county, after
which he returned to McLean county, and
engaged in farming near Heyworth until
coming to Bloomington early in the year
1894. He operated rented land and was
quite extensively engaged in agricultural
pursuits until closing out his farming interests
in 1893. During his residence in the city
he has engaged in the real estate business,
handling a good deal of property, mostly
for other parties, and has made a specialty
of placing farm and city loans, which has
grown to be an important branch of his
business. He is also agent for several in-
surance companies. Although he came to
Bloomington without any knowledge of the
business methods in vogue, he has met with
most excellent success, and has won an
enviable reputation for fair and honorable
dealing. Mr. White lived in Bloomington
for two years, but three years ago bought
and repaired the comfortable home he now
occupies in Normal. Both he and his wife
are members of Grace Methodist Episcopal
church and are held in high regard by all
who know them.
FREDERICK ECKHARDT, whose name
at once suggests the music trade, has a
reputation which extends throughout the
country, and he to-day ranks among the
prominent business men of Bloomington.
Germany has furnished to the new world
not only needed workmen, skilled and un-
skilled, but enterprising merchants, manu-
facturers, artists and apt dealers upon our
marts of trade. Among the manufacturers
no one occupies a more conspicuous posi-
tion than our subject, the well-known
manufacturer of the F. Eckhardt pianos.
Mr. Eckhardt was born in Hesse-Darm-
stadt, Germany, October i, 1843, a son of
William Eckhardt, who was a highly edu-
cated man and a teacher, and also a well-
known musician, his special instruments
being the violin and piano, on which he
gave lessons. He died in Hesse-Darm-
stadt at the age of fifty years when our sub-
ject was only four years old. In the
family have been many talented musicians,
including Charles Eckhardt, our subject's
cousin, who was a professor of music, first
m Brazil and later in Roanoke, Virginia,
and Lincoln, Illinois.
Our subject was educated in public and
private schools of his native land, and early
in life manifested a taste for music. After
leaving school, he served a three years'
apprenticeship in furniture manufacturing,
having to pay for the privilege. Later he
spent two years with a well-known piano
manufacturer of Hamburg, and in the
meantime also gained a theoretical knowl-
edge of music. He worked as a journey-
248
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
man in the old country until 1867, when he
came to the United States and first located
in New York city, where he worked at his
trade for a time. Subsequently he was
similarly employed in Milwaukee, Wiscon-
sin, until 1870, when he went to Racine
and embarked in the manufacture of pianos
on his own account, making first the square
and grand pianos which bore the name of
F. Eckhardt and which soon became
widely known, being sold all over the
United States from San Francisco to New
York. He has ever manufactured an in-
strument of fine tone and volume, is per-
fectly finished and sells at a medium rate.
In 1875 he began the manufacture of up-
right pianos, which he has made almost
exclusively since 1880. He started in busi-
ness in a small way, but as his rapidly in-
creased, he enlarged his facilities and erec-
ted a large brick building in Racine, which
he still owns. In 1896 he removed his
machinery and plant to Bloomington and
built a good two-story brick factory with
separate engine house, on Empire street
and the Illinois Central tracks, where he
has good railroad facilities. He has ever
given his personal attention to every detail
of the business, and is now at the head of
a large and profitable trade and furnishes
employment to a large number of men.
His factory has a capacity of two or three
hundred pianos a year, but he is not yet
working the full force.
On the 14th of October, 1895, Mr. Eck-
hardt married Miss Josephine Zuercher, of
Chicago, of which city she is a native. Her
father, Joseph Zuercher, is of Swiss birth,
and has lived retired from active business
since 1872, his home being now in Bloom-
ington. Mrs. Eckhardt was educated in the
schools of Chicago, and was given special
instruction in music. In 1872 she went to
Stuttgart, Germany, to continue her mu-
sical studies, both vocal and instrumental,
and remained there a year and a half. On
her return to the United States she success-
fully engaged in teaching music in Milwau-
kee, Zanesville and Kenosha, Wisconsin,
and also Bloomington, Illinois, until 1889,
when she again went to Stuttgart, where
she studied under Schwab, the musical
leader of the Royal Theatre. She then re-
turned to her parents' home in Bloomington
and resumed teaching. She is a most tal-
ented musician, and for a time was con-
nected with musical companies giving con-
certs. As a musician Mr. Eckhardt first
met her at a concert in Kenosha, Wisconsin,
twenty years before their marriage. They
have a beautiful home at No. 1 104 North
Garrison street, where she has lived for sev-
eral years, and which is now brightened by
the presence of a little son, Frederick
Joseph. Socially, Mr. Eckhardt is a mem-
ber of the Turners. His life is a worthy
illustration of what can be accomplished by
the exercise of industry, perseverance and
good management, for he started out in life
for himself empty-handed and is now one
of the well-to-do and prosperous citizens of
his adopted city, as well as one of its most
highly respected business men.
SAMUEL F. BARNUM, a well-known
and prominent citizen of Empire town-
ship, whose home is on section 16, is a na-
tive of New York, his birth occurring in St.
Lawrence county, August 11, 1824. His
ancestors on the paternal side were origi-
nally from Scotland and on crossing the
Atlantic at an early day in the history of
this country took up their residence in New
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
249
England. Samuel B. Barnum, the father
of our subject, was born in Vermont, and
when a young man went to St. Lawrence
county. New York, where he married Miss
Rhoda M. Farwell, who was of Welsh de-
scent. He was a carder and fuller by trade
and engaged in the manufacture of cloth at
Canton, St. Lawrence county, for many
years and was one of the most prominent
business men of that place. Later he made
his home in Erie county, New York, for
some years, and from there removed to
Defiance, Ohio, about 1846. He engaged in
business there until called from this life at
the age of si.xty-seven years. His wife, who
survived him several years, passed away at
the age of seventy-six.
In Erie county, New York, Samuel F.
Barnum, of this sketch, grew to manhood,
but his early educational advantages were
limited and he is almost wholly self-edu-
cated by reading and observation in subse-
quent years. In 1844, at the age of twenty
years, he was married in that county to
Miss Clarinda Bunting, who was born there.
They began their domestic life upon a small
farm which he owned in Erie county, and in
connection with its operation he also en-
gaged in general merchandising. In 1855 he
came to McLean county, Illinois, and set-
tled upon land in Empire township which
his father had previously purchased and
which he at once commenced to break and
fence. The first year being very dry, he
raised no crop and in the fall returned to
New York, where he continued to engage
in mercantile business until 1863, when he
again came to McLean county. This time
he accepted a position as bookkeeper with
the lumber firm of Bruner & Whitmer, of
Bloomington, but was promoted at the end
of a. year and his salary to eighteen hundred
dollars annually. He remained with the
firm five years, and in 1870 formed a busi-
ness partnership with Mr. Bruner and came
to Le Roy, where he opened a lumber yard
and engaged in the lumber, grain and coal
business. In 1872 Mr. Keenan purchased
an interest and the firm was known as
Bruner, Barnum & Keenan. Later Mr.
Bruner sold out and the business was suc-
cessfully carried on in Le Roy under the
firm name of Barnum & Keenan until 1889,
when Mr. Barnum sold out and purchased
a farm adjoining the village, on which he
located in 1893, and to the further improve-
ment and cultivation of which he has since
devoted his energies with marked success.
To the original purchase of one hundred
and sixty acres he has added until he now
has three hundred and nineteen- acres, which
he has placed under excellent cultivation,
and has erected thereon two good resi-
dences, barns and other outbuildings, mak-
ing it one of the most valuable and desir-
able farms of Empire township.
Mr. Barnum's first wife died in Erie
county. New York, in 1861. Three chil-
dren were born of that union, namely:
Matilda M. is now the wife of C. D. Wat-
ers, of Le Roy. Henry I. married and set-
tled in Le Roy, where he engaged in busi-
ness until his death in 1889, leaving two
children. Henry Clay died in 1856, at the
age of four years. Mr. Barnum was again
married at Bloomington, in 1865, his sec-
ond union being with Miss Eliza Patterson,
a native of McLean county and a daughter
of Hiram Patterson, who came to McLean
county from southern Illinois in March,
1837. He was born in 1805 in North Caro-
lina. He was a wheelwright and cabinet-
maker by trade. He died in 1844. Dur-
ing his residence here he took quite an in-
250
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
terest in church affairs. By this marriage
there are two sons : Percy D. , who is en-
gaged in farming upon the home place,
married Rettie C. Croslcey, and has one son,
Edwin; and George P. is a businessman of
Santa Rosa, California.
Originally, Mr. Barnum was a Whig in
politics and cast his first presidential vote for
Zachary Taylor in 1848. Since then he has
supported each presidential candidate of the
Whig and Republican parties, with the ex-
ception of those of i860, when he voted for
Stephen A. Douglas, the little giant. He
has been a prominent factor in local poli-
tics, and as one of the most popular and in-
fluential citizens of his community, he has
been called upon to serve his fellow-citizens
in several important offices. For four
years he was mayor of Le Roy, and has
been a member of the county board of super-
visors. While in the latter office he served
as chairman of the judiciary committee one
year, and as a member of several other im-
portant ones. He has been a delegate to
county, congressional and state conventions
of his party, and in whatever position he
has been called upon to fill he has made a
most faithful and efficient officer. He was
one of the first stockholders and first mem-
bers of the Building and Loan Association
of Le Roy, and served as its president for
twenty-four consecutive years. Industry,
energy and economy are among his chief
characteristics, and have brought a merited
success to his efforts. Fraternally, he is a
Master Mason, and in both social and busi-
ness circles he stands deservedly high.
JONATHAN SPENCER, who resides on
what is known as the Evergreen farm,
in Dawson township, is one of the early set-
tlers of McLean county, and one who has
been a pioneer in two states. He was born
in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, December
27, 1 814, and is the son of Jonathan Lee
and Levina (Raxford) Spencer, both of whom
were natives of the Keystone state. The
grandfather of our subject had one daugh-
ter and twenty-one sons, and at the time of
the Revolutionary war sixteen of them were
able to carry muskets.
The subject of this sketch was eleven
years old when he left his Pennsylvania
home, going to Hawkins county, Ohio,
where he grew to manhood, and at McAr-
thurstown was united in marriage with Miss
Polly Ann Watkins, a native of Athens
county, Ohio, and daughter of William and
Hannah Watkins, both of whom were na-
tives of Virginia. Soon after marriage, at
the age of twenty-three years, he came to
Illinois and located first in Vermilion county,
where he remained thirteen years, and then
came to McLean county and settled in Old
Town township, where he bought a farm of
one hundred and thirty-five acres, for which
he gave the sum of eight hundred dollars.
Seven years later he sold it for two thousand
and sixty dollars. He then bought his pres-
ent farm of eighty acres in Dawson town-
ship, which has since continued to be his
home.
To Mr. and Mrs. Spencer eleven children
were born. James died at the age of six
months. Catherine married Marcus Wyman,
of Vermilion county, Illinois, and dying left
two children, Mary and William. Louisa
married Elijah Gayno, and they reside on a
farm near Sioux City, Iowa. Leander and
William are living near Kingfisher, Okla-
homa. Newman resides in Dawson town-
ship. Stephen moved to Nebraska and
died leaving a family of four children. John
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
!5i
residing with his father. Mary married La-
fayette Thomas and died at Fort Scott,
Kansas, leaving five children. Frank is en-
gaged in farming in Dawson township. The
others died in early childhood. The mother
died in August, 1881, and her remains were
interred in the cemetery at Le Roy. She
was a true Christian woman, a member of
the United Brethren church.
On Thanksgiving day, 1884, Mr. Spen-
cer was again married, his second union
being with Mrs. Anna Kilbourne, widow of
Lemuel Kilbourne, by whom she had three
children, Orson, Mary and Earl. She was
born and reared in New York, but her mar-
riage to our subject took place in Nebraska.
In her younger days Mrs. Spencer was a
teacher in the public schools. She is an
intelligent and refined woman and has made
many friends since her residence in McLean
county.
For many years Mr. Spencer was a
member of the United Brethren church,
but he is now identified with the Protestant
Methodists, with which body his wife is also
a member. He has never been connected
with any lodge or fraternal society, believ-
ing that the church of Christ is sufficient
for all purposes. On national issues he has
always been a Democrat, but in local mat-
ters he is independent, voting for the man
best fitted for the office to which he aspires.
He has been called on to fill several posi-
tions of honor and trust, having served as
justice of the peace, supervisor, school di-
rector and road commissioner, discharging
the duties of each office to the best of his
ability and to the satisfaction of his constit-
uents. For si.xty-two years he has been a
resident of Illinois, and the greater part of
that time as a citizen of McLean county.
When he came the country was new, but
13
with others of the heroic pioneer band he
went to work and to-day the results are
shown in the well-cultivated fields, the fine
and substantial farm houses, excellent
church buildings and school houses, and in
the neat and attractive villages and cities.
To such men as Johnathan Spencer this is
all due and they should be honored for
it all.
LOREF H. DEPEW, a wide-awake and
energetic business man of Blooming-
ton, was born in that city, November 10,
1856, a son of Joel and Sally (Enlow) Depew.
The father was born and reared in Virginia,
and in early life removed with his parents
to Indiana, where they died. Subsequently
he came to Bloomington, about 1 840, and em-
barked in business as a cabinet maker. He
erected quite a large factory which he suc-
cessfully conducted until it was destroyed by
fire. As one of the prominent and influential
citizens of Bloomington and a recognized
leader in the Republican party here, he was
honored with several important official posi-
tions, serving as mayor of the city the last
year of the war, and as alderman for some
years. His last years were spent in retire-
ment and he passed away in 1872. The
Depew family is of French origin, and so
far as known, all of the name in the United
States spring from two brothers who came
to America about the time of the Revolu-
tionary war. Chauncey Depew, the great
New York statesman, traces his ancestry
back to the same two brothers. It was in
Bloomington that the father of our subject,
was married to Miss Sally Enlow, a native
of Kentucky and a daughter of John and
Katherine Enlow, with whom she came to
this county. She died February 12, 1899.
252
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
She was the mother of five children, Loren
H., our subject, and Ora, now deceased,
and three who died in infancy.
Loren H. Depew was educated in private
schools of Bloomington, and at the age of
thirteen commenced learning the baker's
trade, at which he served a two years' ap-
prenticeship, but not liking the business he
abandoned it and learned the cleaner's and
dyer's trade, which he followed until attain-
ing his majority. He was then employed
as a clerk in the merchant tailoring estab-
lishments of E. C. Hyde & Son and H. W.
Leach for twenty years, proving a most suc-
cessful salesman and numbering among his
customers many of the leading citizens of
Bloomington. The following three years he
was proprietor of a restaurant and in that
venture met with most excellent success.
At the end of that time he again turned his
attention to the cleaning and dying business
and for a number of years conducted an es-
tablishment of his own in the old post office
block until it was remodeled. For the past
two years he has carried on business at Nos.
104 and 106 South Main street, where he
has a large steam plant for dying and is able
to conduct his business by the latest and
most approved methods. He is the best
equipped and leading business man in his
line in the city. He has also built up a
large trade as a costumer, furnishing every-
thing necessary for ball parties, private
theatricals, etc. Being naturally artistic in
his tastes, he has designed many beautiful
costumes, and is therefore well qualified for
this branch of his business.
Mr. Depew married Miss Tillie E. Aus-
ten, of Bloomington, who was born in
Denmark, but during early childhood was
brought to America by her father, Lewis
Austen. One child graces this union, Cora
M. With his wife, Mr. Depew attends and
supports the First Presbyterian church, of
which she is a member. Socially, he be-
longs to Pythias Lodge, No. 161, K. P., of
which he has been master at work for
eight years, and is also sergeant-major of
the First Battalion of Fourth Regiment
of Uniformed Rank of Knights of Pythias,
which he has accompanied to several
state encampments and six national en-
campments, including one at Washing-
ton, D. C. He is also a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America. In the
spring of 1876 he joined Company F, Tenth
Battallion, Illinois National Guards, and
ten years later enlisted in Company G,
Fourth, Regiment, Illinois National Guards,
with which regiment he was twice called
into active service, once during the famous
riot at Lemont, where he remained for
a number of weeks. After his last enlist-
ment he served for five years. He is an
ardent supporter of the Republican party,
and in 1884 organized the Blaine and
Logan drill team, which took an active
part in the campaign in central Illinois.
As a business man and citizen, he justly
merits the high regard in which he is held,
and his genial, pleasant manner has made
him a host of warm personal friends.
JOHN B. LENNEY has demonstrated the
true meaning of the word success as
the full accomplishment of an honorable
purpose. Energy, close application, perse-
verance and good management — these are
the elements which have entered into his
business career and crowned his efforts with
prosperity. His birth occurred in 18 19, in
Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and he
is the only surviving of the three children
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
253
of William and Sarah B. Lenney, who died
in their native state, Pennsylvania. John
was reared and educated in Cumberland
county, where he worked on a farm, and as
he grew older he learned cabinet-making,
which he pursued until 1856, when he came
west, locating in Chenoa, and built the first
frame dwelling house. Chenoa at that
time presented a vastly different appearance
than at the present day. The only houses
in sight, two in number, constituted the
town, and the neighborhood abounded in
game of all kinds. Mr. Lenney has counted
as many as forty-two deer within half a mile
of his house. His first enterprise upon reach-
ing Chena was to engage in the grocery busi-
ness, which he conducted for two years, then
taking into partnership G. B. Beddinger,
and enlarging the stock and adding dry-
goods, etc. They conducted business under
the firm name of Beddinger & Lenney for
four years, when Mr. Lenney received the
appointment as the first postmaster of Che-
noa, serving in that capacity for twelve
years. He was also appointed express agent
at Chenoa for the United States Express
Company, which position he held for the
same length of time. In 1870 he was com-
missioned justice of the peace, an office
which he holds at the present writing.
In January, 1848, Mr. Lenney was mar-
ried to Miss Sarah A. Bush, who was born
in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Nine chil-
dren have been born to them, six of whom
are living: William B., a farmer; John W. ,
a druggist; Blair, a painter; Lyslie K. , a
clerk; Edward, also a farmer; and Mary E.
Politically, our subject is a Republican, and
fraternally a Mason, who has been raised to
the sublime degree of Master Mason in Che-
noa. He is now living a retired life, free
from business cares and responsibilities, and
takes great pleasure in the society of his
family and friends. He is always courteous,
kindly and affable, and those who know him
personally have for him a warm regard. A
man of much natural ability, his success in
business from the beginning of his residence
in Chenoa, was uniform and rapid. As has
been truly remarked, after all that may be
done for a man in the way of giving him op-
portunities for obtaining the requirements
which are sought in the schools and in books,
he must essentially formulate, determine
and give shape to his own character; and
this is what Mr. Lenney has done. He has
persevered in the pursuit of persistent pur-
pose and gained the most satisfactory re-
ward. His life is exemplary in all respects,
and he has ever supported those interests
which are calculated to benefit and uplift
humanity, while his own high moral worth
is deserving the highest commendation.
BYRON GREGORY, who is now serv-
ing as supervisor of Money Creek
township, is an extensive farmer and stock
raiser, and a native of McLean county. He
was born on the old family homestead in
Gridley township, December 14, 1868, and
is the son of John and Mary (Henline)
Gregory, who were early settlers of the
county, the father being well known as one
of the largest land owners here, having at
the time he retired from active business
over three thousand acres of land. (See
sketch of John Gregory on another page of
this work.)
The subject of this sketch was one of
seven children, and was but two years old
when his parents moved to Normal, and in
the schools of that city he received a liberal
education. Arriving at man's estate, and
254
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
choosing as his calling the life of a farmer,
he returned to Gridley township and set to
work with a will as a farmer and stock-
raiser. He continued to be thus engaged
until 1895, when he returned to Normal,
and in partnership with his brother-in-law,
F. W. Liggitt, engaged in the mercantile
business under the firm name of Liggitt &
Gregory. Two years experience as a mer-
chant was all that he then desired, and he
then withdrew, exchanging his interest in
the store for his present farm in Money
Creek township, which comprises four hun-
dred and thirty acres in sections 17 and 18,
the farm long being known as the Trimmer
farm. He is giving his attention to general
farming and stock-raising, being an exten-
sive feeder, and shipping on an average five
car loads of stock per year.
Mr. Gregory was married December 24,
1889, to Miss Hattie Britt, who was born
in Tazewell county, and daughter of Will-
iam and Sarah (Burt) Britt, who were
early settlers of Tazewell county, and the
parents of four children: Pauline, wife of
Dr. Doff Dillon, of Normal; Emma, wife
of Joseph Richmond, of Tazewell county,
Illinois; John C, a business man of Farm-
ington, Illinois; and Hattie, wife of our sub-
ject. To Mr. and Mrs. Gregory three
children have been born — Omer B., Marie
and Florence.
In politics Mr. Gregory is a Democrat,
with which party he has been identified
since attaining his majority. In the spring
of 1899 he was elected on that ticket to
represent his township as a member of the
board of supervisors of McLean county,
and this in a township that usually gives a
large Republican majority, which fact attests
his popularity. Fraternally he is a mem-
ber of El Paso Lodge, No. 246, A. F. & A.
M., and of Bloomington Chapter, No. 26,
R. A. M. Religiously he is identified with
the Christians, holding membership in the
Christian church at Gridley. While yet a
young man, he has been quite successful in
his chosen calling, and is a thoroughly en-
terprising and progressive citizen, alive to
all the best interests of his native county
and state.
ANDREW M. DUFF, a prominent young
real-estate dealer of Bloomington, was
born in Lincoln, Illinois, May i, 1873, a son
of Andrew M. and Belle F. (Johnson) Duff,
both natives of Kentucky. The father was
one of the very early settlers of Logan county,
Illinois, where he took up a tract of new
land and successfully engaged in general
farming and stock raising. He was an ar-
dent Republican in political sentiment, but
never an aspirant for office. He died De-
cember 21, 1 88 1, honored and respected by
all who knew him. The wife and mother,
who is now living in the city of Lincoln,
came to this state with her parents at an
early day and located west of Bloomington,
where they both died. She is a consistent
member of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church and a most estimable lady. She is
the mother of ten children, of whom nine
reached years of maturity, and of these our
subject is the seventh in order of birth.
During his boyhood and youth, Andrew
M. Duff, our subject, pursued his studies in
the public schools, and later in Brown's
Business College. Going to Lincoln, Illi-
nois, he worked in the abstract office of H.
W. Dana, and during the few years spent
there obtained an excellent knowledge of
titles and the real-estate business. Later he
engaged in the real-estate and loan business
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
255
on his own account at Hastings, Nebraska,
but gave more attention to the latter. He
located there in 1894 and did quite a profit-
able business, but concluded to return to
his native state and this time located in
Champaign, where he was employed by the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
Company as their emigration agent, travel-
ing and selling their western lands. At the
end of a year, he came to Bloomington,
and on the ist of January, 1898, opened an
office in the Gresheim building and has
since successfully engaged in the real-estate
business. He sells on commission for oth-
ers, and also buys and sells property for his
own benefit. He has often dealt two or
three times with the same parties and his
straightforward, honorable business meth-
ods gain for him the confidence and re-
spect of all with whom he comes in contact.
Mr. Duff was united in marriage, on
the 4th of June, 1894, with Miss Jessie
S. Kent, a daughter of Arthur W. Kent,
who was born in London, England, but
during childhood emigrated to Canada, and
in 1883 removed to Logan county, Illinois.
WILLIAM MADDUX, Sr., was for many
years actively identified with the busi-
ness interests of Bloomington, but is now
practically living retired, and e.xpects to
spend his remaining years in ease and quiet,
enjoying the rest which should always follow
a long and useful career. He was born in
Flemingsburg, Fleming county, Kentucky,
July 23, 1832, a son of Edward Dorsey and
Elizabeth (Deering) Maddux, and grandson
of George B. and Judith (Neal) Maddux.
The grandfather was a native of Virginia and
when a young man moved to Fleming coun-
ty, Kentucky, where he purchased land and
continued to make his home throughout life.
He was a grand old man who was quite prom-
inent in his community, and in religious be-
lief was a strict Methodist. He with his
team, was drafted during the war of 1812,
but he hired a substitute to take the team
and haul provisions for the army throughout
the remainder of that struggle. He was
three times married and by the first union
had ten children, the second nine, and the
third two. The father of our subject was
by the first marriage. The grandfather died,
and was laid to rest in the burying ground
upon his farm. He was an earnest Christain
man and his home was always the stopping
place for ministers.
Edward Dorsey Maddux, the father of
subject, was born in 1805, not far from the
birthplace of our subject, and there he grew
to manhood. He was a teamster by occu-
pation and did quite and extensive business,
traveling with a six-horse team all over the
country as far as Lexington, Frankfort and
Maysville. Later he purchased a farm
about five miles from Flemingsburg, upon
which our subject was born. He married
Miss Elizabeth Deering, also a native of
Fleming county, Kentucky, and a daughter
of William and Anna (Rogers) Deering, na-
tives of Fauquier county, Virginia, who at
an early day located in Fleming county,
Kentuck, where Mr. Deering owned and op-
erated a farm until his death. His widow
subsequently married a Mr. Cunningham,
by whom she had one child, and she passed
away at the age of eighty-five years. When
our subject was about eleven years of age,
his father sold his farm and removed to
Flemingsburg, where he engaged in teaming
for some years. The mother died near that
place October 9, 1853, and the father spent
the last twenty years of his life at the home
!S6
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of our subject, where he departed this Hfe
June 1 8, 1 89 1 . Both were earnest and con-
sistent members of the Christain church, at-
tending services at what was called the brick
Union church, in Fleming county. To them
were born five children, of whom three
reached the years of maturity, namely: Will-
iam, our subject; Ann, wife of Dunbar
White, of Bloomington; and George R. All
now live on Buchanan street, Bloomington.
The subject of this sketch began his
education in the country schools near his
childhood home and later attended the Lane
Seminary at Flemingsburg until fifteen years
of age, when he commenced earning his
own livelihood by working by the month,
and was thus employed until his marriage.
On the 2ist of July, 1853, Mr. Maddu.x was
united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann
Summers, who was then living five miles
east of Flemingsburg, but was born near
Mays Lick, Mason county, Kentucky, Feb-
ruary 27, 1831. Her parents, Elijah and
Elizabeth (Batman) Summers, were also
natives of the same place, and were repre-
sentatives of two of the oldest families of
that section. Soon after the birth of Mrs.
Maddux they moved to Fleming county,
where the father engaged in farming until
April, 1858, when he disposed of his prop-
erty there and came to Bloomington, Illi-
nois. He did not long enjoy his new home,
however, as he died on the 9th of the fol-
lowing October, at the age of sixty-two
years. The mother continued her residence
here until after the civil war, when she
went to live with a son in Kansas, but after-
ward, at the age of eighty years, visited her
daughter in Bloomington. She died in Kan-
sas January 21, 1894, at the age of ninety-
three years. Both she and her husband
were faithful members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. Her father, Owen Bat-
man, was a native of Wales, and a pioneer
of Mason county, Kentucky, where in the
midst of the forest he hewed out a home.
Later he went to Ohio and located near
Xenia, where his death occurred. William
Summers, Mrs. Maddux's paternal grand-
father, was also born in Virginia and was
one of the earliest settlers of Mason county,
Kentucky. While building his log cabin he
had to leave his family at Fort Washington
for protection against the Indians, and there
the wife sickened and died, leaving him with
the care of five little boys. He took them
into the woods, where he made for them a
home. Later he married Patience Havens,
who was the grandmother of Mrs. Maddux,
and after her death he was again married.
He was the progenitor of the Summers
family in Kentucky, and his descendants
are now quite numerous in that state. He
was an upright, honorable man, who met
with success in life, and his sons were all
quite well-to-do. To Mr. and Mrs. Maddux
were born nine children, but only three
now survive. Walter, the youngest, died
at the age of eight years. The living are as
follows: Ella is the wife of Julius H.
Reichel, who lives in a house adjoining
that of our subject in Bloomington, and
they have one son, Arthur Harvey; Millard
Lincoln, a member of the police force, mar-
ried Edith Wolfe and has one child, Etta
B. ; and William Edward, who was for
some time engaged in milling, but now fol-
lows the printer's trade, married Zua White,
and has two children, James D. and Herman
Lincoln.
On the 30th of November, 1854, Mr.
and Mrs. Maddux took up their residence
in Bloomington, having come here from
their old home in Kentucky by way of the
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
257
river from Maysville, Kentucky, to Cincin-
nati, Ohio, and from there by rail to Indi-
anapolis, Indiana, and by the railroad to
Michigan City, Chicago, and to Blooming-
ton on the Chicago & Alton, which then
ended at this place. Here he sought em-
ployment, and the first work he found was
cutting ice at one dollar and twenty-five
cents per day and it proved a very cold job
for a southerner. He had just six and one-
fourth cents on his arrival at Bloomington.
He had previously made arrangements to
take a farm in this county, but on their
arrival the other parties backed out and
they were left without a place. As they
had been used to plenty it was at first hard
to get along on the small salary he could
earn by working at odd jobs. They went
to the Ritter House, now the Butler House,
where he paid seven dollars a week for
board, at the same time only earning seven
dollars and a half. For ten years Mr.
Maddux was employed as a driver of a flour
wagon and in that way became somewhat
familiar with the milling business, which he
later successfully followed. In 1878, with
William Cox, he purchased a grocery stock,
and engaged in business in the Hill building
on South East street. Having already be-
come extensively acquainted throughout the
city, he did a large and profitable business
during the following two years. Selling his
interest in that store, he bought a half in-
terest in the grocery of George Woy, and
under the firm name of Woy & Maddux
business was carried on for a time, but our
subject finally sold out to his partner. He
then started in business on Front, near
East street, as a member of the firm of
Maddux & Elledge, and when his partner
sold his interest to Walker Bulwer the name
was changed to Maddux & Bulwer. Later
they moved to the corner of Front and
Prairie streets and admitted W. I. Merwin
into the firm, the name being then changed
to Maddux, Merwin & Bulwer. They occu-
pied a new building and did a large and
profitable business. Subsequently, George
B. Miller bought the half interest owned'
by Merwin and Bulwer and the firm became
Maddux & Miller. They bought a stock of
goods at 807 Grove street and carried on
both stores until the partnership was dis-
solved, Mr. Miller taking the store on Grove
street and our subject the one down town
on Front street, at the corner of Prairie.
This he carried on alone until he closed out
the business and built a gristmill on South
Center street, which was first run by steam
and later by electricity. He secured a large
custom trade and did a good business until
January, 1898, when on account of his
health he sold out and has since lived
retired.
On first coming to Bloomington, Mr.
Maddux lived in rented property, but later
owned a home on the corner of Front and
Clinton streets, and after that at No. 607
Jackson street. He then bought five lots
on Buchanan street, which at that time
was all wood and pasture land on the hill,
and erected thereon his present comfortable
residence at No. 710, where he has made
his home since 1871. He also owns other
real estate in different parts of the city. He
has been a prominent member of Remem-
brance Lodge, I. O. O. F. , for over twenty
years and is past grand of the same, and
for many years he and his wife have at-
tended and supported the Christian church.
Politically, his father was first a Whig and
later a Republican, and our subject has
always been a stanch supporter of the latter
party. In 1876 he was elected alderman
258
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
for the fourth ward and so acceptably did
he fill the office that he was called upon to
serve in that position for four years, during
which time the new city hall was located
and built and the water works finished. He
is a public-spirited, enterprising citizen who
has the best interest of the city and county
at heart and has done all in his power to
promote the public welfare along various
lines.
ISAAC DARST, a prominent and wealthy
citizen of Bloomington, now retired
from active business cares, is one of the
men who make old age seem the better por-
tion of life. Youth has its charms, but an
honorable and honored old age, to which
the lengthening years had added dignity a;id,'
sweetness, has a brighter radiance, as if
some ray from the life beyond already
rested upon it.
Mr. Darst was born in Miami county,
Ohio, April 25, 1822, a son of Isaac and
Jane (Morgan) Darst, who were natives of
Virginia and Tennessee, respectively, and
pioneers of Ohio, where their marriage was
celebrated. In Miami township, Miami
county, the father cleared and improved
one hundred and sixty acres of land and
continued to engage in its cultivation until
called from this life at the age of forty-five
years. He was a thoroughly good and
great man, was one of the early Dunkard
preachers in his section and helped to found
the church there. He had four brothers,
Jacob, Isaac, John and Abram, who also
settled in Miami county and Isaac and John
were prominent members of the same
church, while Jacob belonged to the Chris-
tian church and Abram was a member
of the Presbyterian church. Our subject
was only nine years old when his father
died, leaving the mother with the care of
nine children, whom she carefully reared.
She kept them together and spun and made
their clothes until all were grown. She
continued to reside upon the old home farm
in Ohio for many years, but finally sold
that place and came to Bloomington, Illi-
nois, where she died in 1S73. Her father,
Charles Morgan, made his home in Tennes-
see in early life. He was a soldier of the
Revolutionary war, and his wife was near
enough to the scene of action to hear the
cannon during the battle of Bunker Hill.
Mr. Darst, whose name introduces this
sketch, was reared in his native state and
during his boyhood pursued his studies in a
log school-house from twelve to sixteen
weeks in the winter. He spent some time
with his uncle. Merle Morgan, who taught
him the blacksmith's trade, at which he
worked until after his marriage. On the
1st of April, 1845, he wedded Miss Matilda
Decker, a daughter of Jabob and Mary
(Meyer) Decker. The father was born in
Pennsylvania, but when a small child re-
moved to Athens county, Ohio, with his
father. Brewer Decker, who was of old
Pennsylvania stock. He bought land in
Athens county, where they continued to
make their home throughout the remainder
of their lives. There Mrs. Darst's father
grew to manhood and followed farming as a
life work, owning and operating a farm of
one hundred acres in Athens county. He
died there and his wife, who was a native of
Columbus, Ohio, passed away in 1826, when
Mrs. Darstwas only nine years old. Both
were faithful members of the Baptist
church.
In 1847, Mr. and Mrs. Darst came to
Illinois in a big old Pennsylvania wagon
_^H£ NEW rui'K
'PUBLIC LIBI7ARY
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ISAAC DARST.
MRS. ISAAC DARST.
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THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
263
drawn by three horses, and would camp out
at night along the way. During the entire
journey the wife was ill and would lie awake
nights and cry. Mr. Darst offered to turn
back, but she would not consent. Finally
they reached Pulaski, Logan county, Illi-
nois, where he opened a blacksmith shop,
beginning business there on a capital of fifty
dollars, but they had brought enough pro-
visions with them to last for some time, and
he traded his gun for a cow. In the fall of
1850 they came to McLean county and he
bought eighty acres of school land in Dale
township, which after paying for he sold at
fifty dollars per acre during the war. He
then bought eighty acres in Dry .Grove
township, which he improved and finally
sold to Colonel Gridley. His next, pur-'
chase was the Squire Pease farm of one
hundred and nine acres in Dale township,
on which he erected a good residence,
put in many rods of tiling, and made
many other improvements until it was in
first class condition. Selling that place for
over nine thousand dollars, he bought what
was known as the Valentine farm, formerly
owned by Daniel Kent. It comprises sev-
enty-four acres on the railroad at Spring
Grove station, which he improved by the
erection of a house, and finally sold at a
profit. During all these years he success-
fully engaged in general farming, but since
1894 has lived retired in Bloomington, hav-
ing purchased a home at No. 1406 North
East street. He has made other invest-
ments in the city, and in all his undertak-
ings has met with well deserved success.
Politically Mr. Darst was originally a
Whig, and now gives his support to the
Republican party. While living in the
county he served as road commissioner and
school director, but has never cared for
official honors. He and his estimable wife
are sincere and faithful members of the
Christian church and their lives have ever
been in harmony with their professions.
Mr. Darst was the first to encourage the
Deaconess Hospital, and it was his money
that bought the ground on which the build-
ing now stands, and which will eventually
revert to the hospital. It is worth five
thousand dollars. His life has been manly,
his actions sincere, his manner unaffected
and his example is well worthy of emula-
tion by the young. He has ever supported
those interests which are calculated to up-
lift and benefit humanity, while his own
high moral worth is deserving of the highest
commendation.
n
M"-:;
ILTON HENLINE, who is the owner
of a fine farm of three hundred and
twenty acres, and which comprises the east
half of section i, Towanda township, is a
native of McLean county and comes of a
well-known pioneer family, whose history is
prominently identified with that of the
county. He was born in Lexington town-
ship, February 13, 1843, and is the son of
James J. and Sarah (Smith) Henline, the
father being a native of Boone county, Ken-
tucky, where he was born in 18 15. He
came to McLean county in 1828, a lad of
thirteen years, in company with his parents,
John and Polly (Darnell) Henline, who
located in Lawndale township, which was
their home during the remainder of their
lives, the mother dying February 12, 1883.
In the family of John and Polly Henline
were the following named children: China,
who married William Burt, and removed
with him to Tazewell county, where his
death occurred; George, who lived and died
264
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
in McLean county; John, who removed to
Kansas, where he died; Martin, who also
removed to Kansas; William B., who re-
mained in McLean county, and died in Sep-
tember, 1898; James J., the father of our
subject, who is still living in Lawndale
township; and David, who died in Lexing-
ton township.
Sarah (Smith) Henline, who is a sister
of Shelton Smith, of Lexington, came to
this county about 1834, and by her union
with James J. Henline she became the
mother of eleven children, nine of whom
yet survive: Lucinda, wife of C. C. White-
lock, of Manhattan, Kansas; Milton, the
subject of this sketch; William R., a farmer
of Seward, Kansas; Shelton, a farmer of
Plumbwood, Ohio; Sarah, who died in
childhood; Melissa, wife of Joseph A. Wiley,
of Kearney, Nebraska; Addison, of Orleans,
Nebraska; Ira F. , of Kearney, Nebraska;
Robert, who resides with his parents; and
Etta, who died at the age of twelve years.
Upon the old homestead in Lexington
township our subject grew to manhood, his
boyhood and youth being spent much as
that of other farmer boys. He attended
the country schools and later entered Wes-
leyan University, where he completed his
school life. On leaving the university he
assisted his father in carrying on the home
farm until 1866. At Bloomington, Illinois,
March 22, 1866, he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Irene R. Willhoite,
daughter of Alexander I. and Sarah (Gos-
sett) Willhoite. She was born in Owen
county, Kentucky, October 30, 1845, her
parents being likewise natives of the same
state. The family came to McLean county
when she was but five years of age, and
here she grew to womanhood. She was
the seventh in a family of twelve children,
as follows: Dr. William H., who died in
Kansas in February, 1898; Mary J., wife of
William Hemstreet, of Cass county, Mis-
souri; Felicia, wife of W. H. Lane, of Cass
county, Missouri; Samuel, of Paola, Kan-
sas; Irene, wife of our subject; Caroline E.,
who died in infancy; Lucy B., widow of
Belden Russell, of Paola, Kansas; Mar-
garet, who died May 28, 1870, at the age
of eighteen years; Lycurgus G. , of Cass
county, Missouri; Socrates, of Cass county,
Missouri; Donna, wife of Asa McDaniel, of
Pendleton, Oregon; and Eusebia, wife of
James T. Glass, of Holden, Missouri. In
1868 Mr. Willhoite, with his family, started
to Vernon county, Missouri. While eti-
roiitc he contracted smallpox, and died be-
fore the family were located in their new
home.
To Mr. and Mrs. Henline twelve chil-
dren have been born: Carrie, born Febru-
ary 13, 1867; James I., September 20,
1868; Claude D., May i, 1870; Alvin, May
27, 1872; Buell, February 15, 1874; Ellis,
January 4, 1876; Ada E., January 8, 1878;
Garfield, March 23, 1880; Alma, April 26,
1882; Mabel, June 10, 1884; Milton Cecil,
February 26, 1887; Leslie R. , January 5,
1890. Alvin, who is engaged in farming in
Money Creek township, was married De-
cember 12, 1894, to Miss Alpha Zurkle, a
native of Virginia, and daughter of David
P. Zurkle, and they have three children:
Russell, I. C. and Wendell Z.
In 1866 Mr. Henline made his first pur-
chase of land, one hundred and sixty acres
of his present farm, and in 1882 purchased
the remainder of his half-section, which is
as fine a body of land as there is in the
county. He has followed an intelligent
system of mixed farming and stock-raising,
feeding continually on his place what grain
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
265
he raises. His place is well improved with
commodious dwelling, good outbuildings,
and all have been erected by himself. He
is a thorough farmer and a well-informed
man on the general issues of the day. After
leaving school and before settling down on
his farm, it may here be remarked that he
engaged in teaching for a time, in which
line he showed an aptitude that would in
time have placed him in the front rank of
teachers, if he had chosen to follow teach-
ing as a profession.
In politics Mr. Henline has departed
from the traditions of his fathers and has
always supported the Republican party,
casting his first presidential vote for Abra-
ham Lincoln in 1864. He has always
taken a commendable interest in local
affairs; especially in educational matters
has he been active, having served for some
twelve or fifteen years as school director or
trustee. He has also filled the office of
road commissioner, but has never cared to
give his time to the cares of office, espe-
cially as he knows that there are many who
do desire official distinction. He is an
active and official member of the Christian
church of Cooksville, and for some years
has been an elder. His wife is also a mem-
ber of that church. Socially, he is held in
the highest esteem, being one of those lib-
eral and enterprising citizens who have
made a success in life, and by his genial
disposition has made a host of friends.
AUGUSTUS G. WOLFE. The story of
the founders of this nation and of the
Revolutionary forefathers is interesting, not
only from a historical standpoint, but also
as a source of inspiration and encourage-
ment to others. Yet we need not. look to
the past; the present furnishes many ex-
amples worthy of emulation in the men
who have risen through their own efforts to
positions of prominence and importance in
professional, political and business circles.
To this class belongs Augustus G. Wolfe, a
well-known real estate dealer of Blooming-
ton.
He was born in Dayton, Ohio, October
II, 1835, a son of Jacob and Theresa
(Daugherty) Wolfe. The father was also a
native of Ohio, but the paternal grand-
father, John Wolfe, was born in Germany,
and on his emigration to the United States
located in Pennsylvania, whence he later
removed to Dayton, Ohio, and there spent
his last days. He was a farmer by occupa-
tion and a soldier of the war of 1812.
The father of our subject moved to Carroll
county, Indiana, in November, 1836, and
settled at Delphi, on the banks of the
Wabash river, where he took up a large
tract of new land and transformed it into a
well-improved and productive farm. He
was one of the leading and influential citi-
zens of that locality and was honored with
a number of county offices, the duties of
which he most capably discharged. He
died in 1848, leaving his young wife with
the care of seven children. She continued
to reside upon the home farm until she,
too, was called to her final rest in 1879.
She was a faithful member of the Presby-
terian church and a most estimable lady.
At her death she left three children who
are still living, namely: John F. , a resident
of Flora, Indiana; Augustus G., our sub-
ject; and Mrs. Sarah E. Dosch, of Frank-
fort, Indiana.
Augustus G. Wolfe was educated in the
schools of Delphi, and his business training
was obtained as a clerk in a store at that
266
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
place when he was a mere lad. After at-
taining his majority he spent two years in
travel, and then returned to his native
place, where he was married, May lo,
1859, to Miss Martha E. Davidson, a
native of Xenia, Ohio, and a daughter of
William and Eliza (Andrew) Davidson, the
former a business man and stockdealer of
that place. One child was born of this
union, Edith F. , now the wife of M. L.
Maddux, who is on the police force of
Bloomington, and by whom she has one
child, Etta Brush.
After his marriage, Mr. Wolfe em-
barked in business on his own account at
Delphi, where he conducted a general store
and received a liberal patronage for many
miles throughout the surrounding country.
His place of business was destroyed by fire
in 1870, but he promptly rebuilt and suc-
cessfully carried on operations at that place
until 1873. He served as postmaster of
Pittsburg, Indiana, for seven or eight years
to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
On disposing of his business in Delphi in
1873, he came to Bloomington, Illinois,
and commenced buying and shipping stock,
which proved a profitable business, and he
became one of the most extensive dealers of
the kind in the city. It was not long ere
he had a large circle of friends and acquaint-
ances throughout the county as his busi-
ness made him widely known. In 1895 he
discontinued stock dealing and has since
engaged in the real estate business, handling
principally Indiana lands, and in 1898 sold
over four thousand acres in that state. He
has also handled a large amount of city real
estate, and in this as in his other business
ventures, he has met with remarkable suc-
cess. He is quite prominent in business
circles as a man of the utmost reliability.
and the success that he has achieved in life
is certain justly merited. Since the organi-
zation of the Republican party in 1856, he
has never failed to cast his ballot for its
presidential candidates, and has always
taken a deep and commendable interest in
public affairs. He attends the Presbyte-
rian church, of which his wife and daughter
are members.
ANDREW JACKSON KERBAUGH, one
of the most highly-educated and enter-
prising agriculturists of McLean county, is
the owner of a valuable farm of two hun-
dred and ninety acres in Allin township, and
his management of the estate is marked by
the scientific knowledge and skill which
characterize the modern farmer. He was
born November 17, 1852, in Greenville,
Greene county, Tennessee, a son of Henry
M. and Margaret (Davis) Kerbaugh, also
natives of Greenville and representatives of
prominent old southern families. The
father, who was born in 1822, engaged in
farming and stock raising in his native state
and continued to follow those occupations
after coming to McLean county, Illinois, in
1 85 1. At first he rented a farm in Allin
township, but meeting with success in his
new home, he was soon able to purchase a
place, which he did in 1859. In his family
were seven children, of whom Andrew J. is
the fourth in order of birth, and five of the
number are still living.
Our subject was only a year old when
brought by his parents to McLean county,
and in Allin township he has since made his
home. His preliminary education was ob-
tained in the public schools, which he at-
tended until 1872, and then entered Licoln
University, taking an elective course for
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
267
three years. On leaving that institution in
1875 he commenced teaching in the district
schools, and after being thus employed for
two years, he was principal of the Stanford
schools for one year. In 1878 he purchased
a farm of eighty acres, the operation of
which he superintended while teaching in
Stanford, and then located thereon, having
purchased it under circumstances which
necessitated personal supervision in order
that he might cancel the note give by him
for five years at ten per cent for the whole
amount. By hard work, close economy and
good management, he had his farm paid for
at the end of that time, had stocked it, and
had eleven hundred dollars left. He had
also laid many rods of tiling, so that it was
in much better shape to yield good returns
for his labor. He has continued to prosper
and as his financial resources have in-
creased, he has added to his farm from time
to time until now he has two hundred and
ninety acres, it being one of the most val-
uable pieces of property near Stanford.
It is all under excellent cultivation and well
improved.
On the 24th of September, 1887, in
Chetopa, Kansas, Mr. Kerbaugh was united
in marriage with Miss Belle Johnson, a
daughter of Pembrook and Elizabeth M.
Johnson, now deceased, who were early
settlers of Illinois. Mr. Kerbaugh brought
his bride to the home he had prepared for
her and with her able assistance has made
it a most comfortable and pleasant place.
To them has been born one son, Leland
Park, who is now attending school. The
parents are both sincere and faithful mem-
bers of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church and are held in high regard by all
who know them. For twelve years Mr.
Kerbaugh has most efficiently served as
trustee of his township, and has also filled
the office of school director two years. He
does not belong to any lodge or secret so-
ciety, preferring to spend his evenings with
his family. As a farmer and stock raiser
he has met with well-merited success, and
with the assistance of three men has
planted two hundred acres of corn and
seeded to oats one hundred and eighty-
eight acres in five weeks' time. He is very
progressive and public-spirited, and is a
man of refined and cultured taste, who
gives his support to all measures calculated
to advance the moral, educational or ma-
terial welfare of his township or county.
BERT MARLEY KUHN. Few men are
more prominent or more widely known
in the enterprising city of Bloomington
than Mr. Kuhn. He has been an impor-
tant factor in the upbuilding of the city for
a number of years, and his popularity is
well deserved, as in him are embraced the
characteristics of an unbending integrity,
unabating energy and industry that never
flags. He is public-spirited and thoroughly
interested in whatever tends to promote
the moral, intellectual and material welfare
of the city, and his labors along those lines
have been most effective. He possesses a
depth of character and fidelity to principle
which everywhere command respect, and
Bloomington accounts him one of her most
representative citizens and honored men.
A native of Red Wing, Minnesota, he
was born on the i6th day of April, 1858,
and is a son of Jacob A. Kuhn, who has
been prominently connected with the edu-
cational and commercial interests of Mc-
Lean county, but is now living retired.
When only a year old Bert M. Kuhn was
268
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
taken by his parents to Hudson, Illinois,
where he attended the public schools. He
further continued his studies ip Tonica and
the public schools of Normal, Illinois,
where he graduated in the class of 1879,
and then engaged in teaching in Yuton,
McLean county, for a year. On the ex-
piration of that period he went upon the
road to introduce a system of dress cutting,
of which he is the patentee. For three
years he traveled and the e.xcellence of the
system secured its ready adoption, making
it very popular. It is called the Climax
Tailor System, and has become widely
known throughout the country, being now
in use by over three hundred thousand
dressmakers, which number is constantly
increasing. It is still being manufactured
and sold by Mr. Kuhn, but in the business
he is now represented on the road by a
number of traveling salesmen, who find this
a most salable article. From the begin-
ning the enterprise proved a profitable one,
and gave to Mr. Kuhn his first real start in
business life.
After accumulating some capital in this
way, he began making investments in real
estate and since that time has handled a
large amount of property. When he saw
a house, lot, farm or other realty offered
for sale at favorable terms he would pur-
chase it and hold it until he could dispose
of it to good advantage. In this way he has
handled a large amount of farm and city
property, his sales equaling if not exceeding
those of any regularly established real-estate
dealer of Bloomington. He now has on
hand a number of farms and office build-
ings, buying lands from Indiana to Nebraska.
He is considered one of the best judges of
real estate values in this part of the state,
and his correct knowledge of property has
enabled him to invest most judiciously and
acquire therefrom a handsome fortune. Nor
have his efforts been confined alone to the
two lines of business mentioned. He is a
man of resourceful ability and marked exec-
utive power, and has handled wisely and
well many investments. He has been a
stockholder in a number of important cor-
porations, at one time had a half interest in
the Lincoln street railway, and later was
the sole owner, but afterward disposed of
the road. He was one of the promoters of
the new Coliseum recently erected and a
member of its directorate. He has erected
from five to ten residences annually in
Bloomington and has thus materially ad-
vanced the interests of the city, as well as
furnished employment to a large force of
workmen.
But while actively engaged in extensive
business enterprises Mr. Kuhn has also
found time to assist his fellow men and has
been a potent factor in the advancement of
many benevolent enterprises of the city.
He is thoroughly in sympathy with the un-
derlying beneficent principles of the Masonic
fraternity and holds membership in the
lodge, chapter and council of Bloomington.
He is a member of the board of trustees of
the Deaconess' Hospital and has been
largely instrumental in promoting the bene-
ficent work from the time of its inaugura-
tion to the present. In his political affilia-
tions he has always been a stanch Repub-
lican and has taken a leading part in cam-
paign and committee work, doing all in his
power to promote the cause which he be-
lieves will best advance the welfare of the
nation. He was appointed by Governor
Tanner to the responsible position of treas-
urer of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at
Normal, in May, 1S96, and now has the
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
269
handling of about seventy-five thousand
dollars annually for that institution.
On the 7th of June, 1883, Mr. Kuhn was
united in marriage to Miss Alice E. Squier,
of Calhoun county, Illinois, a daughter of
Ashur G. Squier, one of the pioneers of that
part of the state. He was a leading, in-
fluential and successful farmer and a prom-
inent Republican. Mrs. Kuhn was educated
in the Normal University, and by her mar-
riage has three children, Louis S., Waldo
A. and Nellie. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn
hold membership in the First Methodist
Episcopal church of Bloomington, in which
he is serving as steward and a member of
the official board. The air of culture and
refinement which pervades their home makes
it very attractive to Bloomington's best citi-
zens, many of whom are numbered among
their warm friends. Mr. Kuhn, in conse-
quence of his more active life, is especially
widely known. He is a man of broad capa-
bilities, as his varied and extensive busi-
ness interests indicate. He is at all times
approachable and patiently listens to what-
ever a caller may have to say, always courte-
ous and at all times a gentleman in the
truest and best sense of the term. He is
devoted to the welfare and happiness of his
family and cares not for notoriety, nor is
there about him the least shadow of mock
modesty. He is a gentleman of fine ad-
dress and thorough culture, occupying a
first place in society as well as in the com-
mercial circles of northern Illinois.
JONATHAN B. WARLOW, a pioneer
and resident of McLean county for
more than fifty years, but now residing
in Fresno county, California, was born
in Northampton, Massachusetts, June 27,
1 8 14, and is the son of Benjamin and Betsy
(Bond) Warlow, the former a native of
New York, and the latter born about six
miles from Boston, Massachusetts, Novem-
ber 25, 1785. She was the daughter of
Jonathan and Sally (Grossman) Bond, her
father being born April 30, 1750, and her
mother, July 20, 1773. They were the
parents of nine children, of whom Betsy
was seventh in order of birth. Jonathan
Bond served in the war of the Revolution
in a Massachusetts regiment, and our sub-
ject has the powder horn which he carried
through the entire war. It has his initials
on it. For some years he was engaged in
teaming between Leicester and Boston.
He died July 26, 1810, of lockjaw, caused
by a wagon passing over his foot. His
wife died September 28, 1822.
Benjamin Warlow was born February
21, 1785, and in his youth learned the trade
of bootmaker, serving an apprenticeship
of seven years and six months. After com-
pleting his term of apprenticeship, he went
to sea, and for two years was in the service
on a man-of-war, during the war of 1812,
having been drafted. He was stationed at
Quebec. Having enough of sea life, he
returned to Boston, and commenced working
at his trade again. He there met and mar-
ried Betsy Bond, and soon after they moved
to Northampton, Massachsetts, where they
resided until 18 16. From Northampton,
they moved to Oneida county. New York,
and for the succeeding five years he was en-
gaged at his trade. He then tried farming
in that locality, where he resided until
1832, and then moved to Pickaway county,
Ohio. He remained in that place, how-
ever, but two years, and on the loth of
October, 1834, he arrived at Dry Grove,
McLean county, Illinois. For the sue-
\7<^
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ceeding two years, he rented land of our
subject's uncle, Joshua Bond, and then en-
tered eighty acres and at once commenced
its improvement. On that farm he con-
tinued the rest of his days, in the meantime
acquiring one hundred and sixty acres ad-
ditional, giving him a fine farm of two hun-
dred and forty acres. To Benjamin and
Betsy Warlow eight children were born,
two of whom died in infancy. Those who
lived to maturity were Jonathan B., our
subject; William C, who is living in Bloom-
ington, at the age of eighty-two years; Se-
repta E.; Richard A., living in Allin town-
ship, at the age of seventy-seven years;
Lafayette; and Bond W. , who is living
near Wellington, Kansas, at the age of
seventy-two years. Benjamin Warlow died
September 8, 1864, and his wife, February
24, 1877, at the age of eighty-eight years.
The subject of this sketch spent his
boyhood and youth in Oneida county. New
York, coming with his parents to McLean
county in 1834. In his youth he had no
opportunity for acquiring an education,
and after his marriage he began to learn
to read by himself. He soon devel-
oped a taste for learning, and is to-day a
well-informed man, although self-educated.
The first winter after his arrival in McLean
county, with the help of his brother, he
split rails for fencing the eighty-acre tract
that his father purchased. With his fa-
ther he remained until twenty-four years
old, assisting him in his farming operations.
He then commenced for himself, working
for a time for Joseph Clark.
On the 15th of November, 1838, Mr.
Warlow was united in marriage with Miss
Catherine Hay, a native of Hopkinsville,
Kentucky, born January 3, 181 2, and daugh-
ter of Peter and Elizabeth (Finley) Hay, the
former born May 17, 1770, and the latter
in 1774, and the parents of eight children,
of whom Catherine was seventh in order of
birth. Mr. Hay was a large slaveholder
in Kentucky, where his death occurred.
After his death the slaves were liberated
and sent to Liberia, and the family came to
McLean county.
After his marriage, Mr. Warlow located
on "squatted land," and rented a farm
which he cultivated, and in three years
earned and saved money enough to buy a
tract of forty acres, which was the nucleus
of his present valuable farm of two hundred
and forty acres in Danvers township. He
has also two hundred and sixty acres in Allin
township, two hundred and forty acres in
Reno county, Kansas, and a tract at Fresno,
California, which is used principally as a
vineyard, but on which he raises peaches,
pears and other fruit.
To Mr. and Mrs. Warlow eight children
were born. Elizabeth B. married William
Skeen, and they reside in Reno county,
Kansas. John W. died at the age of seven
years. Mary M. married Jesse Brinard,
and their home is in Reno county, Kansas.
Susan E. died at the age of six months.
Celia J. married George L. Johnson, and
with their five children— Clyde, Ray, Imo,
Newton and Katie — they reside in Fresno
county, California. Their son, Ray, is now
deputy sheriff of Fresno county. George
L. is a lawyer of Fresno, California. He
married Ella Knowles, and they have one
child living, Chester, and three deceased.
Delpha B. married George B. Rowell, and
they also reside in Fresno county, Califor-
nia. They have one daughter, Bernice.
Ida K. is the wife of Harvey Abbott, and
they reside on the old homestead in Dan-
vers township. Mrs. Warlow died June 21,
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
271
1885, and her remains were laid to rest in
the cemetery at Danvers. She was a good
mother, a loving and affectionate wife, and
her death was sincerely mourned, not alone
by the bereaved family, but by many friends
who knew her in this life.
Mr. Warlow continued farming and
stock-raising in Danvers township until
March 15, 1887, when he went to Califor-
nia, and located in Fresno county. The
prime object of his going was for the bene-
fit of his health, which has become impaired.
Purchasing twenty acres of unimproved
land, at fifty dollars per acre, he commenced
its improvement by planting a vineyard, and
setting out about one thousand fruit trees,
consisting of nectarines, peaches, pears and
apricots, and has now one of the finest fruit
farms in that section of the country. He
makes his home in Easton, California, about
one mile from his farm, and about six miles
from Fresno, where he endeavors to take
life easy, enjoying its comforts as best he
may.
In politics, Mr. Warlow has always
been a Democrat, but his sympathies are
with the present administration on the
money question. Feeling the want of an
education himself, he has always taken a
deep interest in the public schools, and for
some years served as school director, and
for many years was a school trustee. On
his farm in Danvers township, and also on
the one in Allin township, a school house
has been built.
Mr. Warlow has been quite successful
in life, and in addition to his landed in-
terests, he is a stockholder in the Peoples
Bank, of Fresno, California, and has an
interest in a packing house in Easton,
California. In every sense of the word he
is a selfmade man. Without education,
14
only as acquired in the school of experience,
without money or influential friends, he
has been enabled to lay by in store a com-
fortable competency to serve in old age.
His children are all comfortably situated,
and the world is the better for his having
lived.
JACOB A. KUHN, who after an active
and honorable business career is now
living a retired life in Normal, was born in
Martick township, Lancaster county, Penn-
sylvania, July 19, 1832, a son of Abraham
and Barbara (Hart) Kuhn. His father was
a native of the same township, born Janu-
ary 24, 1792, and there the grandfather,
Frederick Kuhn, took up his residence at an
early day. Abraham Kuhn learned the
weaver's trade in his youth, and after arriv-
ing at years of maturity he was married,
December 30, 18 19, to Barbara, daughter
of Valentine Hart, also a resident of Lan-
caster county. Mrs. Kuhn was born in
Martick township, January 31, 1798, and by
her marriage became the mother of five chil-
dren. Her husband died March 25, 1833,
after which she removed with her little ones
to Wayne county, Ohio, where she made a
home for them, residing there for many
years. After the year 1855, her children
having become old enough to care for them-
selves, she went to live with them, and her
death occurred in Normal, February 15,
1879. She was a lifelong member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and was of
Pennsylvania Dutch descent, her father hav-
ing belonged to one of the old families of
that nationality.
In the common schools of Ohio, Jacob
A. Kuhn acquired his education, supple-
mented by study in the Ohio Wesleyan Uni-
272
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
versity, at Delaware, that state. Through
his youth he assisted his mother in the work
of the home farm, but later entered upon
educational work and taught for thirty or
forty terms in Illinois, Indiana and Minne-
sota. He came to McLean county in 1852
and was successfully engaged in teaching
near Danvers and other places. He was
married in 1855, and the following year re-
moved to Pine Island, Minnesota, where he
conducted a private school. He also located
a claim a half mile south of the town, and
for three years followed the dual occupation
of teaching and farming. After one winter
spent in Iowa, he spent a short time in Hud-
son, Illinois, and then went to Tonica, where
he carried on carpentering in connection
with his educational labors. Later, returning
to Hudson, he there engaged in merchan-
dising for six years and also served as town-
ship clerk. He next removed to Jackson
county, Indiana, where he carried on farm-
ing for three years, and then took up his
abode in Normal, where he has resided
almost continuously since 1875. He has,
however, conducted business enterprises at
various places. He was in the lumber busi-
ness in southern Indiana and in 1884 went
to Nebraska, where he spent three years
upon a claim of four hundred and eighty
acres of land. He lived there alone, look-
ing after the property interests of himself
and son Bert, who together owned more
than a section of land. He made good im-
provements on the place and finally sold
out at an excellent profit. On leaving Ne-
braska he traveled through the south, intro-
duing the Climax dress-cutting system of
which his son Bert is patentee, and then
returned to Normal, where he has since
lived retired, enjoying a rest which he has
truly earned and richly deserves. Here he
owns good property, having a very pleasant
home.
In May, 1855, was celebrated the mar-
riage of Mr. Kuhn and Miss Mary Denning,
the wedding taking place near what was
then called Concord, but is now Danvers,
McLean county. The lady was born in
Richland county, Ohio, near Belleville,
December 5, 1833, and is a daughter of
Samuel B. Denning, who was born in Lan-
caster county, Pennsylvania, March i, 181 1,
a son of Solomon and Ann (Hart) Denning.
Solomon Denning was a native of the north
of Ireland, and when a youth of twelve
years crossed the Atlantic with his father,
Samuel Denning, and settled in Virginia,
whence the son afterward removed to Penn-
sylvania, where he followed the shoemaker's
trade. He there married Ann Hart, a
daughter of Valentine Hart. He spent his
entire life there and died in Columbia when
his son Samuel was only three years old.
His wife also died a few years later. Sam-
uel Denning then went to live with an aunt,
and after two years went to the home of
his grandfather, who died when the boy was
only fourteen years of age. He then
started out in life for himself, learned the
weaver's trade and followed that and other
occupations, whereby he might earn an
honest living. He married Elizabeth Alex-
ander and her death occurred February 7,
1833. He then started westward, locating
in Wayne county, Ohio, and after two years
he went to Richland county, Ohio, where
he entered a small tract of land and built a
house, which continued to be his home for
five years. In 1841 he became a resident
of Hillsboro, Montgomery county, Illinois,
and in 1849 came to McLean county, pur-
chasing land south of Danvers, but selling
the property in 1855. He accompanied his
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
273
son-in-law Mr. Kuhn, to Minnesota, but re-
turned in 1859 and followed farming until
his retirement to private life. His wife died
December 14, 1893, leaving seven children.
He has resided at the same place in Nor-
mal for twenty-six years and is one of the
honored and venerable citizens of the com-
munity. He has long been a prominent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and in his political belief is a Republican.
Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn have also been
identified with the Methodist church
throughout their residence in Normal and
have largely promoted its work and growth.
At one time Mr. Kuhn was a member of
Masonic lodge at Tonica, but dimitted and
became a charter member of the lodge in
Hudson, which, however, is not now in ex-
istence. From the organization of the
party he has been a staunch Republican in
politics, and at all times is true to his duties
of citizenship and to the obligations that
rest upon him in public and private life.
His life labors have been crowned with a
degree of success. Dependent upon his
own exertions from an early age he acquired
a liberal education, and in financial circles
made steady advancement until he became
possessed of a comfortable competence.
His name is synonymous with honorable
dealing and his life record is unclouded by
shadow of wrong.
WILLIAM A. PETERSON, the well-
known and popular manager of the
new Coliseum, of Bloomington, was born
in Springfield, Illinois, September 16, 1864,
a son of Alfred Peterson, who was born in
Stockholm, Sweden, and when a boy
started for America with his mother, sister
and two brothers, but the mother died on
the voyage and was buried at sea. The
father had died previous to this time and
the sister soon after the arrival of the fam-
ily in the new world. The three brothers,
Jacob, Charles and Alfred, located near St.
Louis, Missouri, the father of our subject
being at the time only five years old.
Later he learned the machinist's trade in
St. Louis, where he continued to make his
home until during the civil war, when in
1862, he removed to Springfield, Illinois,
where he and one of his brothers conducted
a soda water factory for a number of years.
It was in that city that he married Miss
Mary E. Carter, a daughter of William E.
Carter, a prominent attorney of that time
and an associate of Abraham Lincoln. She
was born in Moravia, Indiana, where her
ancestors, who were Quakers, had located
at a very early day when the Indians were
far more numerous in that region than the
white settlers. About 1867, Alfred Peter-
son and his brother came to Bloomington
and started a soda water factory at the
corner of Mulberry and Madison streets,
where they did a large and successful busi-
ness until their property was destroyed by
fire. In this way and through other ad-
verse circumstances, the father of our sub-
ject lost the fortune he had accumulated.
He was a large-hearted man and his gener-
osity amounted to almost a fault. He died
in Springfield, in 1892, but his wife is still
living and makes her home in Bloomington.
To them were born four children : William
A., our subject; Alfred, who is connected
with the Pantagraph; Lillian, wife of Ben-
jamin Cohen, of Louisville, Kentucky; and
one who died in infancy.
During his boyhood, William A. Peter-
son attended the public schools of Bloom-
ington and also spent two years and a half
274
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
at Baker's Business College, from which he
was graduated. In Myer's mill on South
Cedar street he learned the miller's trade,
and there remained two years, after which
he worked in the big Gibson mills at Indian-
apolis, Indiana, for three months, but on ac-
count of the dust was obliged to give up
that occupation. Accepting the first posi-
tion that presented itself, he was news
agent on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad
for a time, and later was on the Big Four
Railroad running out of Indianapolis, but he
did not like that occupation and soon gave
it up. Returning to Bloomington he went
to work in the paint shop of the Chicago &
Alton Railroad Company, where he remained
three years and then gave up the position,
as he had grown tired of that occupation.
In the meantime he was always to be found
around the opera house at night, passing
bills, ushering or doing other odd jobs which
he could get, and he also worked for the bill
poster. Finally, on quitting the Chicago &
Alton Railroad shops, he was given a posi-
tion by George Cummings, who now has
charge of the advertising of one of the lead-
ing theatres of New York City, and under
him our subject became thoroughly familiar
with everything pertaining to the manage-
ment of a theatre, and when he resigned his
position as foreman bill poster, Mr. Peter-
son was given the position of foreman of the
bill posters in Bloomington, which he held
for about four years. He then went on the
road as advance agent for Harry Webber,
of the Nip & Tuck Company, and the last
year he was with them he was one of the
actors. He first went on the stage as a sub-
stitute for one of the actors who was ill, and
so well did he succeed in playing his part
that he was retained in that capacity.
Leaving the company at New Orleans, he
returned to Bloomington and was again
made bill poster for the opera house, which
position he held in all eighteen years, four-
teen years at one time. He continued to
superintend the bill posting until the open-
ing of the Coliseum, when he was offered
the position of manager of that house, which
is one of the largest opera houses in central
Illinois, having a seating capacity of thirty
five hundred. He has made the theatre
business a study for years, so that he
thoroughly understands it, and is meeting
with most excellent success in the manage-
ment of the Coliseum, being careful in his
selection of plays so as to have only first-
class performances. He is now able to give
to the public a one dollar show for fifty
cents, and thus far has received a most lib-
eral support. He still does his own posting.
Mr. Peterson has not only proved a good
business manager, but is also quite success-
ful as an actor, and in the home minstrels
of one hundred people, given by the Carni-
val Association, he played an important
part. He staged the piece Carl Johnson,
the Woodman, in which his children took
part.
Mr. Peterson married Miss Josephine
Krimmel, of Springfield, Illinois, and to
them have been born two children: Leota
Litta and William A. They have a modern
and attractive home on South Madison
street, which was erected by our subject at
a cost of three thousand dollars. Socially
he is quite prominent, and has been a mem-
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America,
Blooming Grove Lodge, No. no, for six
years; Pythias Lodge, No. i6i, K. P., for
seven years; and Custer Company, No. 22,
Uniform Rank of Knights of Pythias, in
which he has served as record for two years
and as first sergeant. He could have gone
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
275
through all the chairs, but his evenings are
generally occupied by his business. All
local entertainments receive his endorse-
ment and support, and he is widely and
favorably known in theatrical circles.
DR. J. E. COVEY, of Lexington, Illi-
nois, is a well known physician of
acknowledged skill and ability of McLean
county. He was born in Downs township
October 8, 1861, and is the son of Corne-
lius and Dicy (Johnson) Covey, the former
a native of Cayuga county. New York, born
February 26, 181 5, and the latter a native
of Kentucky, born July 29, 1818. Cornelius
Covey moved with his father, Edward
Covey, to Ohio when he was but two years
of age, and there the family remained until
1836 when they came to McLean county,
or what was then a portion of McLean
county, locating at Farmer City, in what
is now DeWitt county. While yet residing
in Ohio, he received his education in the
pioneer schools of that state. His father
was by occupation a farmer, and he was
reared to that calling. Edward Covey
passed to his reward November 28, 1854,
his wife surviving him some years, dying
March 19, 1861. Her maiden name was
Hannah Northrup, and she was the sister
of Stephen J. Northrup, who carried the
news of Arnold's treachery from West
Point to Hartford, where General Wash-
ington was then stationed.
After coming to Illinois, Cornelius
Covey remained with his parents until he
attained his majority, and from their home
he walked to Pekin, Tazewell county,
where he worked during the winter of 1838
in a slaughter house, making enough money
to purchase ten acres of land, on which he
built a small log house with one room, got
married and commenced life in earnest.
The young couple moved into the house
before the floor was laid, and the wife
would hold the tallow candle while the
husband hewed logs for the puncheon floor.
Nearly all the furniture used in that cabin
he made from logs. For a time he chopped
wood and split rails, earning thereby fifty
cents per day. His good wife was not idle
in the meantime, but with her loom and
spinning wheel made an equal amount. In
that log cabin they resided a few years, and
then moved to what is now Empire town-
ship, McLean county, where he purchased
thirty acres of land from his wife's mother.
On that farm he resided with his family
until about 1850, when he moved to Downs
township, where he took up one hundred
and si.xty acres of prairie land, about one
mile from any timber. He was told by
the settlers that he would freeze to death
being so far from the timber, but he only
laughed at them. Improving the place, he
lived on that farm until 1879, when he
moved into the village of Leroy, where he
lived in retirement during the remainder of
his life, dying January 18, 1892.
On the 5th of September, 1837, Corne-
lius Covey was united in marriage with Miss
Dicy Johnson, daughter of James and Cath-
erine Johnson, pioneers of McLean county,
coming here from their native state of Ken-
tucky about 1823, being among the very
earliest settlers of White county, Illinois.
They located near Bloomington, which had
then but a few small log cabins. They died
but a few years ago and were buried on the
home farm in Empire township. To Cor-
nelius and Dicy Covy eleven children were
born — Katherine, Edmund, James R. , By-
ron, Sarah E., Nathan, Lorenzo, Stephen
276
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
H., William J., Henry and John E. Mrs.
Dicy Covey was named for a daughter of
Daniel Boone, who was a dear friend of the
family. In politics, Cornelius Covey was a
Republican, and religiously he was a Bap-
tist, as was also his wife. She died August
4. 1895-
The subject of this sketch received his
primary education in the district schools of
Downs township, and on the removal of the
family to Leroy, he attended the high school
of that place, from which he graduated in
1880. On leaving the high school, he
taught school one year in Empire township,
and in 1881 entered the Illinois Wesleyan
University at Bloomington, taking the scien-
tific course of two years. During the sum-
mer of these two years he studied medicine
with Drs. White and Guthrie, of Blooming-
ton, and in March, 1884, entered the Rush
Medical College Chicago, where he re-
mained three years, taking what was known
as the graded course, comprising three full
winter and three full spring terms, and
graduating February 26, 1887.
On receiving his diploma, Dr. Covey im-
mediately located in Lexington, where he
has since remained. He first commenced
practice in partnership with Dr. J. C. Gra-
ham, and was with him about two and a
half years. Purchasing the interest and
good will of his partner, he has since con-
tinued alone in practice, with gratifying suc-
cess. He takes great interest in his profes-
sion, and always endeavors to keep posted
in the latest discoveries in the medical
world. He is a member of the McLean
County Medical Society, of the Illinois
State Medical Society, and of the American
Medical Association, and in the proceed-
ings of each he takes an active and lively
interest.
On the 29th of May, 1890, Dr. Covey
was united in marriage with Miss Emma L.
Scrogin, who was born in Le.xington town-
ship, September 8, 1869, and daughter of
Levin P. and Sarah E. Scrogin, of whom
mention is made elsewhere in this volume.
By this union two children have been born,
Katherine and John E., Jr., both of whom
are attending the schools of Lexington.
In politics the Doctor is a stanch Repub-
lican, and cast his first presidential vote for
Benjamin Harrison in 1888. He is now
serving as one of the alderman of his city,
a position he has filled for two years.
Fraternally he is a member of Lexington
Lodge, No. 482, A. F. & A. M., in which
he has filled all the chairs; of Chenoa
Chapter, No. — , R. A. M. ; of Ideal Lodge,
No. 338, K. P., of Lexington, in which he
has also filled all the chairs; and of Ingomar
Camp, No. 601, M. W. A. He is also a
member of the Baptist church, of which
body his wife is also a member. He is
medical examiner for some twelve or fifteen
insurance societies, most of them being old-
line companies.
The Doctor has been quite successful
in a financial way, and has made some
very good investments. He has lately pur-
chased three hundred and twenty acres of
land in Money Creek township, which cost
him a snug sum of money. In addition he
owns a good farm in Lexington township.
As a citizen he is enterprising and progres-
sive, ready to assist in any enterprise of
public benefit. No man in Lexington has
more friends or is held in higher esteem.
ADAM WAYBRIGHT, who lives on a
fine farm of eighty-seven acres adjoin-
ing the village of Downs, first came to Mc-
The biographical record.
277
Lean county in 1849. He is a native of
Virginia, and was born in Highland county.
May 16, 1826. He grew to manhood in his
native county, and was reared to farm life.
It was with him work, work, almost from
early childhood. Prior to leaving his na-
tive state, he was united in marriage with
Miss Millie Wicks, who was born in Shen-
andoah county, Virginia. After his mar-
riage he engaged in farming, but as his
means were not sufficient to own and use
slave labor, he felt that he could not suc-
ceed, and with others determined to emi-
grate to Illinois, where land was yet plenty
and where the opportunities would be far
greater for ultimate success. Accordingly,
in the fall of 1849, about six families started
from their old Virginia home destined for
McLean county, Illinois. They arrived
here just before Christmas, and Mr. Way-
bright found employment on the farm of
John Price, adjoining the one on which he
now lives. He later rented the Price farm
and run that for seven years, and during
that time purchased eighty acres of unim-
proved land in Downs township, on which
he located and commenced to improve.
After remaining there two years he sold the
same and purchased sixty acres, which he
also improved. He remained on that place
four years, and then sold for fifty dollars per
acre, which was a nice advance on the pur-
chase price. He then purchased a farm of
one hundred and thirty-nine acres, known
as the James Weaver place, on which he
resided eight years, selling that for fifty
dollars per acre, which was an advance on
the purchase price. In 1882 he purchased
eighty-seven acres where he now resides,
and on which he has continually lived since
that time.
Since removing to his present farm, Mr.
Waybright has made some good improve-
ments, including the erection of his present
neat and comfortable dwelling house. In
addition to his farming and stock raising,
for some years Mr. Waybright was engaged
in buying and selling stock, in which line he
met with a fair degree of success. In con-
nection with Peter Price, Mr Waybright
laid out the village of Downs, and paid the
greater part of the expense in the erection
of the station buildings. Commencing life
without a dollar, Mr. Waybright has gone
along the even tenor of his way, adding lit-
tle by little to his store, as the years passed
by, and is now in very comfortable circum-
stances, with no fear of the future.
In 1880 Mrs. Millie Waybright departed
this life, and for his second wife Mr. Way-
bright married in Lincoln county, Missouri,
March 5, 1885, Miss Alice Colaw, a native
of that county and state, and daughter of
Jesse Colaw, who was born and reared in
Highland county, Virginia, but who was
an early settler of Lincoln county, Missouri.
By this second marriage there are three
children living — Walter D. Leslie, and
James Adam. One daughter, their first
born, died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Waybright is a Jack-
sonian Democrat, and with that party he
has continued to act all his life, believing
with all his heart in its principles. His
first presidential vote was cast for James K.
Polk. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, of which body his wife is
also a member. For fifty years — a half
century — he has been a citizen of McLean
county, and during that time he has seen
villages and cities spring up, and the whole
county dotted over with excellent farms and
farm houses, while school houses and
churches are within convenient distances
278
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
to the whole body of people, and evidences
of prosperity abound on every hand, and
in the great work that has been accom-
plished he has been no unimportant factor.
WILLIAM RICHARD WHITE. In
the great trade circles of the west
there has been no one who has borne a
more unsullied reputation than this honored
resident of Bloomington. He is of the
highest type of the self-made man, one who
has by untiring effort, close application, un-
abating energy, and laudable ambition risen
from obscurity to an eminent place among
the representatives of the industrial interests
of the country. Through all, the upright-
ness of his nature has remained unchange-
able. Following in the path of duty he
has so lived as to win the confidence and
esteem of all. Integrity, activity and energy
have been the crowning points of his char-
acter, and his life history represents an
eventful and interesting career in which
difficulties and obstacles have been over-
come, and wealth has rewarded honorable
and consecutive labor.
A native of Illinois, Mr. White was born
at Goose Nest Prairie, in Coles county, a
mile east of the home of Abraham Lincoln,
about the time he served in the state legis-
lature. The date of his birth was Decem-
ber 22, 1844, and his parents were Bar-
tholomew and Elizabeth (Easton) White.
He traced his ancestry back to one of the
patriots of the Revolutionary war, William
White, who joined a South Carolina regi-
ment and gave his life for the cause of
American independence. His son, William
White, grandfather of our subject, removed
from South Carolina to Tennessee, and on
March 3, 1828, came to Coles county, Illi-
nois, entered land from the government and
there spent his remaining days, his death
occurring about 1837.
Bartholomew W. White was born in
Smith county, Tennessee, January 6, 18 12,
and was a lad of fifteen years when he ac-
companied his parents on their removal to
Coles county. He began his education in
Tennessee and completed it in this state.
After his marriage he engaged in farming,
buying a tract of land which he cultivated
for some nine years. He also engaged in
hauling lead from Galena to Milwaukee for
nine years. He afterward spent thirty
years in educational work and in the minis-
try of the Christian church, and throughout
the state his influence was widely felt. He
established many churches in the new set-
tlements throughout Illinois, and baptized
nearly four thousand people. He often
went from thirty to one hundred miles to
preach the gospel, traveling on horseback,
receiving for his services whatever the peo-
ple wished to pay him. His life was one of
consecrated devotion to the cause. His
power and influence in his holy office were
exerted in a spirit of the deepest human
sympathy and tender solicitude, nor was
there denied him the full harvest nor the
aftermath whose garnering shall bring the
sure reward in the words of commendation,
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
He read the opening chapter at the funeral
of the father of Abraham Lincoln, at which
time the Lincoln family resided near Janes-
ville, in the vicinity of the White family.
Mr. Lincoln, Sr. , often visited at the home
of our subject, and while Rev. White was
at Galena he always performed the service
of taking honey from the hives for the
family.
WM. R. WHITE.
THE NhW YOI;K
PUBLIC Library
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FOUrD MO^'
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
2SI
In 1859 Bartholomew White, with his
eldest son, joined a party en route for
Pike's Peak, but returned to Illinois in the
fall and resumed his ministerial labors.
There was much suffering in the mining re-
gions of Colorado at that time, many starv-
ing to death. He returned with many
relics, but no gold, and again preached the
gospel to the people of Illinois for many
years. At length he retired to Neoga, this
state, where his son, William R., pur-
chased him a home in which he afterward
resided. The son also paid off his father's
debts, amounting to twenty-two hundred
dollars, and the aged preacher has gone to
his long home, being called there by the
angel of death, February 11, 1899, aged
eighty-five years, one month and five days.
His wife passed away on the 20th of De-
cember, 1884. She was born in Palestine,
Crawford county, Illinois, September 4,
1 8 16, a daughter of William Richard Eaton,
for whom our subject was named. He was
born in Kentucky, and married Elizabeth
Eaton about the year 1782. To them were
born eleven children. He was a success-
ful carpenter and cabinet maker, and
served his country as a soldier in the Black-
hawk and Mexican wars. He was one of
the pioneers of Crawford county. Some of
his children were born in a fort near Vin-
cennes, Indiana, and at an early day he re-
moved to Coles county, where his daugh-
ter Elizabeth was reared, her marriage to
Mr. White being celebrated in Charleston,
Coles county, October 2, 1834. In her
early years she was noted for her skill in
spinning and weaving flax, and in doing
little jobs of carpenter work around her
own home she was also proficient. It was
probably from her that William R. White
inherited his mechanical genius. She was
a most earnest worker in church and Sun-
day school, and was so well versed in the
scriptures that she could sustain an argu-
ment with any minister of the time, ex-
pressing her views with a clearness and
force that often made her opponent call into
question the soundness of his own opinions.
Withal she was so kind, gentle and loving
that she died without an enemy in the
world. "Her children rise up and call her
blessed."
Unto Bartholomew and Elizabeth White
were born nine children, who reached years
of maturity. Lewis B., who died in Cali-
fornia in ,1884, was for twenty-five years a
successful school teacher. He was an ex-
pert p^enpnjan, could display thirty-two varia-
tions iTi his handwriting, and could inscribe
his name five times at once, using both
hands and his mouth. He was an excellent
grammarian and a master of the art of
rhetoric, and his splendid gifts of oratory
made his services in great demand as the
speaker on various public occasions, es-
pecially at Fourth of July celebrations.
Paroleane became the wife of James Con-
rad and died, leaving a son, John Conrad,
of Crawford county, a most earnest Chris-
tian gentleman over whose life record there
falls no shadow of wrong. Arminda J.,
now deceased, was the wife of Jackson
Brooks, who had gone before marriage to
California. To them were born five chil-
dren. She was a most thorough Bible stu-
dent, able to discuss with theologians any
disputed point, and was a correspondent of
Rev. Mathews, the publisher of the Chris-
tian Record, of Cincinnati, who was a pio-
neer minister of the Christian church. In
Sunday-school work she was most zealous
and earnest, and at all times she closely
followed in the footsteps of the lowly Naza-
282
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
rene. Hannah E. became the wife of New-
ton Smith, an elder of the church in Hutton
township, Coles county, Illinois. She, too,
was an earnest worker in the church, will-
ing to make any sacrifice for the advance-
ment of the cause of Christianity. In man-
ner she was most charming, affable and
kindly, and was no less beautiful in person,
having a fair complexion. Delilah Emiline,
who married J. Prather, is a tall but win-
some blue-eyed woman, living near Neoga,
Illinois. Her husband was fair, with black
eyes, and their first two children were blue-
eyed, the second two black-eyed, the third
two blue-eyed, and the last two had eyes
like the father's. The home of this family
was near Neoga, and most of the children
have engaged in teaching school. William
R. White is the next member of his father's
family, and was followed by Mary C, who
is the wife of John G. Hunter, of Neoga.
They have four children, all of whom have
been teachers, and two of the sons after-
ward became preachers. James Napoleon
White was a Union soldier during the civil
war and died at Chattanooga while in the
service. Sarah Malinda is the wife of Will-
iam P. Lacy. They own a nice farm near
Neoga, and they have one son. Like the
other members of her family, Mrs. Lacy is
devoted to church and Sunday-school work,
has been a delegate to many of the conven-
tions of her denomination in the state, and
by her excellent vocal powers has contrib-
uted not a little to the musical features of
these meetings. Martha E. is the wife of
Nathan B. Haskett, and is a prominent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church
of Neoga, Illinois. Melsena is the wife of
J. W. Spencer, a miller of Neoga, by whom
she has three children. She, too, possesses
superior musical ability, a talent which is
shared by most of the members of the
White family.
Fate seemed to have been unkind to
William R. White in his childhood, for the
first eight years of his life were spent in
almost total darkness. Serious trouble
with his eyes made it almost impossible for
him to bear the light and he was forced to
remain in a large walnut cupboard or under
a bed from which heavy quilts were hung,
thus excluding the light. He did not see
the sun until eight years of age, and
through his affliction was deprived of most
of the pleasures which children enjoy. He
worked for his brother in order to get his
old books, his first text book being an old
third reader. He first attended school
when eleven years of age, but his entire
course, continuing at intervals until his
nineteenth year, did not cover more than
eighteen months. He was ambitious to
learn, however, and studied in his leisure
moments and at night. As his father was
poor and could not afford kerosene oil or
candles William would carry bark from the
timber where he made rails and clapboards
for a mile on his shoulder, and use it for
lighting purposes, when he was poring over
his books. In school he managed to master
Ray's Third Part Arithmetic to analysis,
and completed it at home. He was an apt
scholar and possessed an excellent mem-
ory. At one time he wished to contest for
a Sunday-school prize by memorizing the
six chapters of the book of the Ephesians,
which he did in one week while following
the plow. In a pocket he carried a testa-
ment, and while the horses were turning
at the ends, and at noons and mornings,
he memorized it. He took great interest
in literary and debating societies, and his
oratorical ability was so far in advance of
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
283
the others of the neighborhood that finally
at one place he was ruled out of the soci-
eties because every one feared to debate
against him. In his early manhood, when
eighteen years of age, he began teaching, a
profession which he followed for fourteen
years. He taught for nine years in seven
adjoining districts, and during the last part
of his labors in that profession he held a
first grade certificate. His advance seemed
always in the face of many difficulties and
hardships, but a resolute spirit and honor-
able purpose enabled him to triumph over
these, and ultimately win success.
In 1 87 1 misfortune overtook him and he
had to place a mortgage upon his little farm
of fifty acres. He eventually lost the place,
and then turned his attention to invention.
Possessed of much mechanical ability, he
had studied the needs of the farmers and at
length produced a fence, without wire, bolt,
pin or augur hole. He perfected his inven-
tion but had not the money to patent it
until his sister Delilah and other friends
loaned him the sum, he to pay one hundred
dollars' worth of the invention for each dol-
lar received. The patent was at length se-
cured and the invention proved a success
so that his financial stress was soon relieved,
and from that time forward his capital has
constantly increased until it has now as-
sumed extensive proportions. The fence
meeting his expectations, Mr. White now
wished to invent a gate to go with it, and
commenced the labors that have resulted in
the production of the Bessemer steel gate,
which is unequaled by anything of the kind
ever placed upon the market. Before this
was done, however, he invented many wheel
and swinging gates, and finally the oscillat-
ing arm steel gate, which was patented in
May and June, 1897. He now has a large
and splendidly equipped gate factory in
Bloomington, in which city he has made his
home since 1 893, and at times the factory has
been operated day and night in order to meet
the demands of the trade. For one hundred
and four days his sales on the gate amounted
to five hundred dollars daily, or fifty-four
thousand dollars. In a short time his sales
had reached ninety-seven thousand dollars,
and he had done no business on Sundays.
Later his sales amounted to between three
and four hundred dollars per day for some
months, and now the White gate is known
throughout the entire country. He has not
only sold direct to purchasers, but has dis-
posed of the territory at reasonable rates,
so that others have profited by the invention
which has now yielded to him a princely for-
tune. He has secured altogether sixty
patents and four hundred and eighty of his
claims on gates have been allowed. His
sales on his own inventions have amounted
to over a half million of dollars, but he does
not claim to be worth that amount, and
as yet the White Bessemer Steel Gate has
hardly been two years on the market. Its
value to the agricultural public can hardly
be overestimated and it is but another
triumph of the American skill and genius
which has placed this country at the head of
all nations in the production of useful inven-
tions. He received the Blue Ribbon and
Diploma from the World's Columbian Ex-
position at Chicago, and a gold medal pre-
mium, carried off similar prizes at the Omaha
exposition, and expects to exhibit the gate at
the Paris Exposition in 1900. He got first
honors on his farm gates at New Orleans
in 1885, and at Louisville in 1886. The
United States Government has selected his
gates as worthy of being placed in the pat-
ent office exhibits at all the large exposi-
284
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tions in the United States for thirteen years.
Mr. White was quite an inventor when
he taught school, but did not know it at
the time. He carried in his vest pocket a
little book, called an Idle-book. If a pupil
were idle during school hours, he would
give it a mark; if a second time he gave it
another mark secretly; then he would tell
the school that a member had two marks,
and if he had to give him three idle-marks
that day the same pupil would have to be
whipped, a thing he would be pained to do,
so James thought it was he, Mary feared it
was she, Bob almost knew it was he, and
the result was they all studied as they never
did before. The facts are, in three schools
only one boy "of fourteen years " had to
be whipped. Mr. White told him how
sorry he was that a good, bright boy should
commit such a crime; that it was bad to
swear, to lie was worse, for a falsehood in-
jured others, but to be idle injured himself,
his teacher, and deceived his parents, who
furnish all pertaining to the school, and
such an offence was grave indeed, — that
those who did not work should not eat. So
that ended the whipping; the warning was
all he had to do.
On short, cold days Mr. White would
tell the school interesting things, then have
a recess in which queries would be pro-
pounded, and the hard questions be sent to
the parents of the scholars. He would
open his school by singing an appropriate
song. Once while he was teaching in the
western part of Cumberland county, Illi-
nois, the adjoining teacher learned that part
of Mr. White's school had changed from
Webster's speller to McGuffie's, and ban-
tered Mr. White for a spelling match.
Mr. White accepted the challenge, and
went to his school with about twenty pupils.
The other teacher got a pronouncer from
his own district, who selected his words
promiscuously, and if a pupil of that district
missed a word, he would say "how.'" and
of course the pupil would change. On
words that he e.xpected Mr. White's pupils
to miss, he would also say "How?" expect-
ing them to change and miss. Near mid-
night it ended up even, but Mr. White in-
formed the school of the unfairness of the
man giving out the words, and challenged
his neighbor's school, to meet with his the
next week, which challenge was accepted.
Mr. White learned the other school meant to
post up, and got his pupils to agree to do just
what he planned. He told them that where
there was a family of three or five, to pair
off in twos, and as near in scholarship as
possible, then they must go to each other's
house, one taking a book, and pronouncing
every word from page eight to the last page,
each word missed must be marked, and then
that book must be handed to the one spell-
ing, and in turn must have every word in
the book put to him, and all words marked
that he missed, and then each must learn to
spell every word so marked, and get its
definition. When the schools met a pro-
nouncer was secured from a third district,
and there were eighteen on a side, as the
other teacher only brought his best spellers.
With the two teachers it made nineteen on
a side. Possibly there never before was
such an interest displayed. Each teacher
took his place at the foot of his class.
Tally was kept and at ten minutes after mid-
night, Mr. White cut down the last of the
opposite side, leaving thirteen of his own to
be spelled down. The man who kept tally,
told him that his opponents missed three
words to one by the pupils of his school.
This was enough for the other school; they
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
285
went home the worst defeated school ever
heard of until later Mr. White was hired at
the Ailshire school, in the south part of the
county. The year before, a teacher teach-
ing below in an old and well-equiped district,
had paid a visit to the Ailshire school and
advertised them in the papers as being very
poor spellers. This teacher was full of self-
esteem, and made the remark that he
thought the best scholar in the Ailshire
school might spell the word Baker, which
by the way was his name. Mr. White cre-
ated quite an interest by Christmas, organ-
izing a literary society, teaching a singing
school of nights, and having spelling-matches
and debates. Baker got interested, and
would attend occasionally, soon proposing a
spelling-match, one school against the other,
saying that he expected his school, of
course, would be beaten, but that should
make no difference, so long as they could
learn something. The older pupils went to
Mr. White saying that it would never do to
spell against that school, that he had adver-
tised them the year before, and that his
school was greatly advanced, while their
chances had been meagre,- — using a log
house up to this year. Mr. White feared
nothing, knowing his own tactics, and made
a talk in favor of the spelling-match, which
was carried by a single majority. The
next day Mr. White informed his pupils of
his plan to beat the other school, and all
jumped to their feet with one accord, cry-
ing out with great enthusiasm, that they
would do anything honorable to beat.
When the spelling-match came off, Mr.
White only lost one pupil, who happened
to miss a word, and by 11:30 p. m., Baker
himself, and his whole school, forty-five in
number, had been cut down, leaving the re-
mainder of Mr. White's school yet on the
floor. That was Baker's last school in that
vicinity, and he pulled out and went west.
Mr. White often receives letters from his
many pupils scattered in various states,
eulogizing him for the good advice and
knowledge imparted in the old district
school. In teaching, Mr. White would first
appeal to his school to learn that which
they knew not, to pay little attention to
the things already learned; to learn to-day
rather than to-morrow; not to fear mis-
takes, for by mistakes we know what little
we do know; that there was a great de-
signer before the worlds were made, and
that all things were made and adapted to
meet some end. The hair grew upon the
head instead of the feet as a protection;
that the nails were on the hands and feet
for the use of the hands and feet, but all for
the use of the man. The earth was made
for man, apparently, as he was given do-
minion over all other animals; that man
could use implements, and could reason
from cause to effect; that he could and did
make improvements, and that his life was
and has been longer than that of other
animals. As the fingers and toes were
made for the use of the body, the same
kind of reasoning would teach that coal,
iron, and all minerals were made for man,
rather than other animals, as they could not
use such. The same reasoning applied to
steam and gasses of all kinds, hence the in-
ference, " the earth was made for man by
an all-wise Creator," and that all things
existed from a cause.
On the 6th of October, 1866, Mr. White
married Miss Harriet E. Kellar, daughter of
Riley and Harriet (Miller) Kellar. Her fa-
ther was a soldier in the Blackhawk war,
and with his family removed from Jackson
county, Indiana, to Neoga township. Cum-
286
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
berland county, Illinois, at an early day.
When a young man Mr. White engaged in
teaching vocal music, continuing in the same
for seven years. Among his pupils in the
singing school was Miss Kellar, whose ac-
quaintance he thus formed. Their marriage
has been blessed with seven children. Mary
R. , the elder, is the wife of G. W. Monroe,
principal of a school in Sullivan, Illinois,
and candidate for county superintendent of
schools. They have four children, Zelma,
Alora, Elizabeth and Arville. Mrs. Monroe
was organist in the church in Neoga for a
number of years, and is an accomplished
musician. John F. , the son, married Lu-
ella E. Pierce, a beautiful and cultured
lady of Bloomington, and they have one
daughter, Beatrice. He now has the man-
agement of, and owns most of his father's
gate factory and is a capable business man,
popular in both commercial and social cir-
cles. Fair Eleander possesses exceptional
ability as an artist and is very proficient in
both instrumental and vocal music. Mar-
tha E. is the wife of J. B. Spaulding, a
prominent surgeon of Clinton, Illinois, and
they have one daughter, Lucille. Delilah
is the wife of R. M. Hall, the well known
city editor of the Bloomington Leader. She,
too, possesses considerable musical abil-
ity, as does the next daughter of the family,
Bessie Lee, who is attending school. G.
C. , a bright boy of thirteen years, com-
pletes the family and is well versed in liter-
ary knowledge, natural history and lan-
guages, and very oratorical indeed for one
of his age.
For many years Mr. White has been a
most active and influential member in the
Christian church, and contributes liberally
to those interests tending to advance the
moral and intellectual welfare of the com-
munity. Temperance and educational work
find in him a friend and he withholds his
co-operation from no movement for the gen-
eral good. He possesses an excellent mem-
ory, is a fine speaker, holding the attention
of his auditors by that intangible quality
known as personal magnetism, as well as
by the clearness and logic of his thoughts,
often taking for subject — astronomy. His
home, a beautiful residence, erected at a
cost of thirty-seven thousand dollars, stands
at the corner of East and Locust streets,
and is a monument to the enterprise and
ability of the owner. In manner he is most
quiet and unassuming, entirely approach-
able to all, and refusing no one the courtesy
of an interview. He is, in the truest sense
of the term, a self-made man and is always
glad of an opportunity to aid one along the
stony path which he has trod. His life is a
splendid illustration of what may be ac-
complished in this free land by young men
of industry, resolution and ambition. He
has enjoyed triumphs in his business career,
but in private life has gained that warm per-
sonal regard which arises from true nobility
of character, deference for the opinions of
others, kindliness and geniality. Such is
the life history of one of the most honored
and esteemed citizens of Bloomington.
PETER GRATZ, deceased, was for a
number of years a prominent and suc-
cessful business man of Bloomington, con-
ducting the leading custom tailoring estab-
lishment in the city. He was born in
Prussia, Germany, March 31. 1839, a son
of Peter Gratz, who brought his family to
America in 1854 and located at North Ver-
non, Indiana, where he purchased land and
engaged in agricultural pursuits until his
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
287
death. Our subject was educated in the
public schools of his native land, and as his
parents wanted him either to enter the
priesthood or learn a trade, he chose the
latter and commenced learning tailoring
before the emigration of the family to the
United States. He completed his appren-
ticeship in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he con-
tinued to work as a journeyman until the
breaking out of the civil war.
Prompted by love of his adopted country,
Mr. Gratz enlisted in the Ninth Ohio Vol-
unteer Infantry on the first call for seventy-
five thousand men to assist in putting down
the rebellion, but being taken sick he was
soon afterward discharged. Later he joined
the home guards and went to the front after
his marriage. On the 4th of November,
1862, he wedded Miss Katherine Metz, who
was born and reared in Hamilton, Ohio.
Her parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Cook)
Metz, were natives of Germany and early
settlers of Hamilton. The mother lived to
the ripe old age of eighty-seven years.
Having